Israelis voted on Tuesday in their first general election since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, in a contest widely described as a verdict on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on three years of war that followed.
Turnout ran at its fastest pace in decades. By 10am, 16.68 per cent of eligible voters had cast a ballot, the highest figure at that hour since 1981, according to the Central Elections Committee. By noon, more than 31 per cent had voted, over 2.3 million people, the highest midday turnout since 1977.
Polling stations opened at 7am and most were due to close at 10pm. About 7.3 million people were eligible to vote for the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament. No single party was expected to win the 61 seats needed for a majority, so coalition talks after the count could take weeks or months.
What happened
Voters began casting ballots across Israel on Tuesday morning, October 27, in the country’s 26th Knesset election and its first since the October 7 attacks. More than 1.2 million people had voted within the first three hours.
The Central Elections Committee’s acting director general, Dean Livne, said in a televised statement that the 10am figure was 0.78 percentage points higher than at the same hour in the previous election in 2022, when turnout at that point was 15.9 per cent.
The vote is taking place against the continuing fallout from nearly three years of multi-front conflict triggered by the October 7 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 251 were taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza, fighting in Lebanon, and strikes involving Iran have left the country more internationally isolated and deeply divided at home, while national security and accountability for the security failures of October 7 have dominated the campaign.
Who is contesting the election
The contest is, in effect, between two blocs. On one side is Netanyahu, 77, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who has held office on and off for more than 19 years and returned to power in December 2022 at the head of a coalition of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.
Netanyahu campaigned heavily on his security record, on his relationship with United States President Donald Trump, and on the argument that he alone can keep Israelis safe. Supporters point to the Abraham Accords of 2020, under which Israel normalised relations with several Arab states, and to his willingness to take military action against Israel’s enemies.
On the other side is Gadi Eisenkot, 66, a former military chief of staff leading the Yashar party at the head of an informal bloc stretching from the right to the centre-left. Eisenkot joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet after the October 7 attacks and quit after eight months, criticising the prime minister’s leadership.
Eisenkot has pledged to set up an independent state commission of inquiry into the security failures that led to the October 7 attack, something Netanyahu’s government has resisted. He has also promised to dismantle or destroy Hamas’s military and governing power in Gaza within 18 months of forming a government, while opposing the creation of a Palestinian state and supporting Israeli settlements, though he has promised to crack down on violent settlers.
The last polls published before voting showed the two men running neck and neck, with neither bloc clearly on course for a majority. Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has publicly said he would partner with the predominantly Arab lists, which represent about 21 per cent of Israel’s population, although Arab turnout could still prove decisive. Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian candidate, described Arab voting as running at unprecedented levels, and analysts said a slight majority either way was the most likely outcome.
Why the turnout matters
High turnout does not, by itself, decide who wins. What it does show is how engaged voters are in an election many have called the most important in Israel’s history.
Voters interviewed on the day reflected that split. Ruth Epstein, an 81-year-old voter in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv who backed the opposition Democrats, said she thought these were the most important elections she had known and that she was scared about what lay ahead. Louis Lipsky, a Netanyahu supporter in Jerusalem, said he was voting to keep the prime minister in power, crediting him with the Abraham Accords.
Uriel Brandler, a 58-year-old real estate agent in Jerusalem, told reporters the day before the vote that he believed it was one of the most important election days in Israel’s history and that the country definitely needed change for the better in every aspect.
Turnout among soldiers was also high early in the day, at 30 per cent by 10am compared with 25.7 per cent at the same hour in 2022, with the army having run 850 polling stations at military bases after voting there began a week earlier.
Ballot slips, vote-buying and voter tracking
Election day was not without disputes, and three separate issues were reported.
First, Eisenkot’s Yashar party complained to the Central Elections Committee that its ballot slips had been found missing, damaged or turned over in voting booths, citing nine incidents across the country and describing them as evidence of a possible systematic and deliberate attempt to sabotage voting. The committee said it had found no indication of systematic sabotage and was responding to individual complaints as they arose. There were also reports of shortages of Arabic-language ballot slips at some polling places, and Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas urged supporters to vote despite the difficulties.
Second, police arrested three people overnight on suspicion of planning to bribe voters to support the Arab-led Ra’am party. Abbas criticised the arrests as unjustified and an attempt to influence the result, while police denied seeking to interfere with the vote. The arrests concern suspected vote-buying and should not be treated as evidence of a wider operation to manipulate the election.
Third, Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party accused Likud representatives of illegally tracking voters through a smartphone application that monitored who had arrived at polling stations. The committee initially said it had received no reports substantiating the claim, while acknowledging one isolated incident involving photography at a polling station, where the official involved stopped after the rules were explained. B’Yachad later filed a further complaint, but the additional claims had not established that the alleged tracking was widespread.
The distinction matters. A missing ballot slip can prevent or inconvenience a voter, and a suspected bribe or tracking allegation raises serious questions, but none of these reports, on its own, proves coordinated election fraud. Voters who cannot find the slip for their preferred party can notify the polling-station committee so slips can be replenished, or use a blank white slip and write the party’s identifying letters in blue ink, which counts as a valid vote if completed as required.
Timeline
- October 7, 2023: Hamas-led attacks kill about 1,200 people in Israel and 251 are taken hostage, triggering nearly three years of multi-front war.
- December 2022: Netanyahu returns to power at the head of a right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition, in the previous general election.
- September 17, 2026: Israel’s High Court bars party representatives from reporting in real time which identifiable voters have cast ballots, while leaving parties free to contact voters and encourage turnout.
- October 27, 2026, 7am: Polling stations open for the 26th Knesset election, the first since the October 7 attacks.
- October 27, 2026, 10am: Turnout reaches 16.68 per cent, more than 1.2 million votes, the highest at that hour since 1981.
- October 27, 2026, noon: Turnout passes 31 per cent, more than 2.3 million votes, the highest midday figure since 1977.
- October 27, 2026, 10pm: Most polling stations are due to close.
- November 4, 2026: Deadline set by the Central Elections Committee for publishing the final official results.
What happens next
Final results could take days to trickle in, and the committee’s timetable lists November 4 as the deadline for the final official results. After that, the real contest begins: building a coalition of at least 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
If neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot can form a governing coalition, Netanyahu could stay on as caretaker until another election is held. His opponents have removed him from the premiership only once since 2009, and that took four inconclusive elections in two years before he returned 18 months later.
The shape of any new government will also decide whether an independent inquiry into October 7 goes ahead, how Israel handles Gaza, the West Bank and its strained relations with Western states, and whether the country’s rightward political shift continues or stalls.
Frequently asked questions
Who is leading the Israel election? No winner can be declared from turnout alone. The last polls published before voting showed Netanyahu and Eisenkot running neck and neck, with neither bloc clearly on course for the 61 seats needed for a majority.
Why is turnout so high? By 10am, 16.68 per cent of eligible voters had voted, the highest at that hour since 1981, and by noon turnout had passed 31 per cent, the highest midday figure since 1977. Voters on both sides described the election as the most important in Israel’s history.
When will the Israel election results be known? Final results could take days, and the Central Elections Committee’s timetable lists November 4 as the deadline for publishing the final official results. Coalition negotiations after that could take weeks or months.
Were there problems on election day? Yashar reported missing or damaged ballot slips, police arrested three people on suspicion of planning to bribe voters for Ra’am, and B’Yachad accused Likud representatives of tracking voters. The committee said it had found no indication of systematic sabotage, and none of these reports has been established as proof of coordinated fraud.
What does the election mean for the October 7 inquiry? Eisenkot has pledged an independent state commission of inquiry into the security failures behind the October 7 attack, which Netanyahu’s government has resisted. Whether that inquiry happens depends on who can form the next government.
How many seats are needed to govern Israel? A party or coalition needs at least 61 of the 120 Knesset seats to command a majority. No single party was expected to come close to that figure on its own.
Related coverage
Israel closed all West Bank land crossings on election day after a deadly Hebron checkpoint attack and a crackdown that displaced about 2,000 residents, a decision that turned a security operation into an election-week story. For more World news, see the World section.