Israel election results: exit polls at 20:00 UTC, official Nov 4

Key takeaways

• Israeli TV channels broadcast exit polls the moment voting ends at 10 p.m. local time (20:00 UTC) on Tuesday, October 27.
• Reuters expects the final count by October 30 and official publication of results on November 4.
• Within seven days of publication, President Isaac Herzog must give one Knesset member the job of forming a government. He does not have to pick the leader of the largest party.
• That nominee has up to 42 days to build a coalition of at least 61 of 120 seats, according to Reuters. If every attempt fails, Israel goes back to the polls.
• Final pre-election polls showed neither the pro-Netanyahu bloc nor the opposition bloc reaching 61 seats, so coalition talks could take weeks.

Israel election results begin with TV exit polls the moment polling stations close at 20:00 UTC on October 27. The final count is expected by October 30 and official results on November 4, followed by coalition talks that could last weeks, Reuters reported.

Voting opens at 7 a.m. local time (05:00 UTC). An estimated 7,331,981 citizens are eligible to vote at more than 12,000 polling stations, NBC News reported. For the race itself, the polls and the main candidates, see our Israel election 2026 guide.

What happened: Israel votes in its first election since October 7

This is Israel's first parliamentary election since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold on power is at stake, Reuters reported in an explainer filed from Jerusalem early on October 27 and carried by Yahoo News. Voters pick one national party list rather than individual candidates, and at least 35 parties are on the ballot, according to NBC News.

The 120 seats in the Knesset are shared out by proportional representation. A party needs at least 3.25% of the national vote to win any seats. Reuters said about a dozen parties are widely thought to have a chance of clearing that line, which is one reason the count can take time: a party that falls just short loses all its votes, and the seat shares of every other party shift.

Israel election results timeline, step by step

Exit polls at 20:00 UTC

Israeli TV channels publish exit polls as soon as polling stations close, and actual results start coming in after that, according to Reuters. Exit polls are projections, not results. In a fragmented race where several parties sit near the 3.25% threshold, small errors can change which bloc looks closer to 61 seats. Reuters said the winner is likely to be known within a few hours of polls closing, but a full picture could take days or weeks if no camp wins a clear majority.

The count and official results

Reuters reported that the final tally is expected by October 30 and that official results will be published on November 4, a week after the vote. NBC News also said official results are due within eight days, with rough seat numbers known sooner.

President Herzog's consultations

Once results are published, President Isaac Herzog consults the parties on who should lead the next government. Under Section 7 of Basic Law: The Government, the president must assign the task to a Knesset member within seven days of the results being published. Herzog is not required to choose the leader of the largest party, NBC News reported. Reuters said he picks the candidate he believes has the best chance of forming a government.

Up to 42 days to form a coalition

The nominee has up to 42 days to form a government, according to Reuters. No single party has ever won an outright majority in Israel, so every government has been a coalition. Reuters noted that these talks often take weeks and can turn small parties into kingmakers. The finished coalition must then win a confidence vote in the Knesset, NBC News reported.

What we know and what we don't know yet

• Known: polls close at 20:00 UTC on October 27; the final count is expected by October 30 and official results on November 4, according to Reuters.
• Known: in the final polls, neither bloc reached 61 seats. A KAN poll cited by Al Jazeera gave the opposition alliance 52 seats and Netanyahu's bloc 50, with the rest going to unaffiliated parties. A Walla poll cited by NBC News put Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar on 23 seats and Netanyahu's Likud on 19.
• Known: a ban on publishing new polls took effect on Friday, October 23, according to Al Jazeera, so no survey reflects the final days of the campaign.
• Not yet known: turnout, which parties clear the 3.25% threshold, and whom Herzog will nominate.
• Not yet known: whether any candidate can reach 61 seats. Turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel, which Al Jazeera said polling put as high as 60%, could decide how many seats the Arab-led lists win.

Background: why the process can drag on

About 7.3 million citizens are eligible to vote, including about 1.2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, Al Jazeera reported. The pro-Netanyahu bloc is made up of Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism. The opposition includes Yashar, the Democrats, Yisrael Beiteinu and the Together alliance of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. Arab-led lists Ra'am and the Joint List are outside both blocs.

Netanyahu, 77, has led Israel for nearly 19 of the past 30 years and faces criminal cases on fraud, breach of trust and bribery, which he calls a politically motivated witch hunt, NBC News reported. Israelis voted five times between 2019 and 2022, a reminder that a deadlocked Knesset can lead straight to another election. If no government forms, the current cabinet stays on as a caretaker until a new vote, according to Reuters. NBC News said a new election would be held within 90 days if the Knesset is dissolved.

What it means

Expect a clear headline from the exit polls on Tuesday night (UTC), but treat it with caution until the count is complete. The numbers that matter most are each bloc's total seats against the 61-seat line and which small parties cross 3.25%. If neither bloc gets there, the next government will depend less on election night and more on Herzog's choice of nominee and on several weeks of coalition bargaining. Follow developments on our Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset topic pages.