Two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won a fifth term, the Central Elections Commitee announced Thursday that he would likely command the largest faction in the upcoming Knesset,
The inital results had indicated that both Likud and the center-left bloc Blue and White would both get 35 seats each in the Knesset, but upon an almost complete count of provisional and other ballots (including those cast by soldiers), the governing party picked up one more seat.
Official results are likely to be announced only next week after all irregularities are reviewed.
The added seat will potentially make Netanyahu’s job of forming a coalition easier.
The New Right, led by Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, is still close to the minimum electoral threshold, having garnered just below 3.25% of the valid vote count, but is unlikely to pick up more votes unless a recount is announced.
The party and its allies said they would take legal action to ensure the votes would not be certified before a recount was held.
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