Polls have closed in Israel, and initial exit polls by Israeli broadcasters are expected to be released shortly afterward. But it will be hours before the definitive results are known, and it could be weeks until a new government is formed.
Here’s what to know:
-
Early indicator: Exit polls in Israel can be useful to get a sense of each party’s relative strength, but they are not considered a reliable gauge of precise results — particularly in a tight race like this one.
-
Vote-counting: Votes are tallied in Israel by hand, with ballot slips tabulated at more than 12,000 polling places across the country. The counters are monitored by camera-toting election observers.
-
First results: After the hand count is completed, paper tallies are taken to regional hubs where the results are recorded electronically. The whole process takes hours, and the authorities begin to release the results once they are completed.
-
Possible delay: Israel is a parliamentary democracy, and no party is expected to win anywhere near an outright majority of the votes. Once the results are in, the process of forming a government will begin. That could take weeks or even months.
-
Next government: The party with the most votes and the most seats in the Parliament may not be the one to form a government. In 2021, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats but was unable to assemble a majority coalition. Instead, after months of wrangling, an eclectic coalition of anti-Netanyahu forces cobbled together a single-seat majority in Parliament.
The post What to Expect Now That Polls Are Closed in Israel appeared first on New York Times.
