Central Elections Committee Approves Final Election Results by 15–2 Vote

Original report The Central Elections Committee approved the final results of Israel’s election to the 26th Knesset on Wednesday, November 4, completing the committee vote after the counting and audit. The plenum approved the results and distribution of 120 seats with 15 members in favor, 2 against and 14 abstaining. The committee said the results would next be submitted to the president and published in the official gazette. Committee chairman and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg said voters determine the election results. He said suspicions concerning particular aspects of the process remained under investigation, but did not justify casting doubt on the election as a whole or delaying its results. Describing respect for election results as a precious national asset, Sohlberg said: “It is easy to break, very difficult to repair.” The approved allocation gives Likud 27 seats, Yashar 21, Together 12, the Joint List 11, The Democrats 8 and Ra’am 8. Yisrael Beytenu, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism each receive 7 seats; Shas and Religious Zionism-Zehut each receive 6. In its earlier audit statement, the committee said it examined 9,069 of the 12,018 regular polling stations, about 75%, and conducted deeper checks of ballots and documentation at 350. About 250 public-service lawyers and committee personnel worked for six working days, from October 28 through November 3. The committee said it examined all complaints, including 2,452 submitted by parties and lists and 1,239 from the public, and made corrections where required. It said the audit found no findings indicating compromised election integrity or changes to the results. Update • On November 4, Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg presented the official results of the election to the 26th Knesset to President Isaac Herzog. • At the presentation, Sohlberg said the suspicions under investigation must not cast doubt on Arab citizens’ votes, and welcomed their high turnout. He said the committee trusted the Shin Bet chief, attorney general, police commissioner and other authorities investigating the suspicions.