Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is projected to win a fifth term in office, Wednesday after nearly complete results from Israel’s general election put him in position to form a right-wing coalition, media reports said.
The victory, despite corruption allegations against the 69-year-old premier, puts him on a path to become Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister later this year.
Netanyahu’s Likud party looked set to finish with a similar number of seats in Parliament to his main rival, ex-military chief Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White alliance. But with 97 per cent of the votes counted, results showed Likud and other right-wing parties allied to Netanyahu set to win some 65 seats in the 120-member Parliament.
The close race between the two main parties had led to uncertainty after polls closed Tuesday night and exit surveys were released. Both Netanyahu and Gantz claimed victory after the initial exit surveys that gave Blue and White the most seats.
But even then Netanyahu appeared best placed to form a coalition, with both parties in any case falling far short of an outright majority.
Netanyahu spoke in the early hours of Wednesday at Likud’s post-election party in Tel Aviv and called it a ‘magnificent victory’. As he walked onto the stage to chanting crowds, he planted a kiss on the lips of his wife Sara before dramatically wiping lipstick from his face. “It will be a right-wing government, but I will be Prime Minister for all,” Netanyahu told the gathering.
The vote had long been expected to be close and lead to frantic negotiations to form a coalition, even with Netanyahu facing potential corruption charges.
“Things can change, but in any case the rightwing bloc won,” Meshi Sivani, 52 and wearing a Likud t-shirt, said at Netanyahu’s post-election party.
Gantz, a newcomer to politics, mounted a strong challenge to the veteran Prime Minister by brandishing his security credentials while pledging to undo damage he stated Netanyahu has inflicted on the country with divisive politics.
AFP