Israel's Election Commission Confirms Results and Rejects Fraud Claims

Israel's Central Elections Committee on Wednesday confirmed the final results of the 27 October vote and rejected claims of mass voter fraud and large-scale foreign interference promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The committee, which runs national elections, said its review found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results, according to The Guardian.

The outcome removed Netanyahu's far-right coalition from its governing majority. Al Jazeera reported that the Netanyahu-led bloc won 53 seats and the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48. Arab-led parties Ra'am and the Joint List secured a record 19 seats.

Netanyahu's fraud claims included allegations against Arab parties, the AFP news agency reported. Netanyahu's Likud party filed 1,200 complaints over voting in Arab communities, Haaretz reported. Itamar Ben-Gvir's party announced it will oppose certification of the 2026 results.

The committee's chair, Noam Sohlberg, said some suspicions remain under investigation. He said they do not cast doubt on the election as a whole or justify delaying the results. Election authorities presented the final figures to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday.

A separate dispute concerns the domestic security service Shin Bet, which Netanyahu's government oversees through the prime minister's office. According to The Guardian, Shin Bet chief David Zini, whom Netanyahu handpicked for the role, ordered the interrogation of senior politicians from Palestinian-led parties and sought to classify the investigation as a security file. That classification would have allowed harsher conditions, including barring the politicians from legal counsel. Haaretz reported that the attempt targeted four politicians.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, the government's chief legal adviser, blocked the demand. She said she had been presented with no evidence of wrongdoing, The Guardian reported.

Herzog condemned racist expressions against Palestinian citizens of Israel after the election. Palestinian citizens turned out to vote at historic rates.

Looking ahead, Herzog is expected to give Eisenkot the first chance to form a coalition, the group of parties that would need to back a government. An announcement could come as early as Thursday evening. Eisenkot has the public support of all the Jewish Israeli opposition parties.