Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on Israel's election victory, the prime minister's office said on Thursday, about 48 hours after polling stations were closed.
Israel's Central Election Commission announced the final seat allocations for the 25th parliament on Thursday, giving Netanyahu and his political allies 64 seats, enough for a ruling majority.
President Isaac Herzog said Wednesday that he would start talks with politicians on forming a new government after the results were formally confirmed on November 9.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was asked by CNN on Tuesday about his fears that he would lead a far-right government if he returned to power, and responded, apparently referring to the Lahm Party Union.
“We don’t want a government with the Muslim Brotherhood, who support terrorism, deny the existence of Israel and are pretty hostile to the United States. That is what we are going to bring,” Netanyahu told CNN in English at his polling station in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu's allies are talking about changes to the judicial system, which could put an end to Netanyahu's own corruption trial, to which he pleaded not guilty. Netanyahu himself has been a major issue not only in Tuesday's election but also in the previous four elections. Voters and politicians split into factions based on whether they voted for the man commonly known as Bibi. (according to CNN News)
The difficulty in building a stable government in the last four elections is that even some parties aligned with Netanyahu on the issue refuse to cooperate with Netanyahu for personal or political reasons.
The election saw the highest voter turnout since 2015. The Central Election Commission said 71.3% of voters cast their vote. This is more than any of the last four elections have resulted in stalemate or short-lived governments.
