Likud Accuses Arab Parties of Election Theft as Count Shows Record Seats for Them

Jerusalem, Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party on Wednesday accused Arab parties of “stealing the elections” as the count showed them on course for their best-ever Knesset result. The parties are currently credited with 19 seats, a record.

Likud’s allegations

In its statement, Likud said the vote had been taken from it by Arab parties that back terrorism and want the Jewish state eliminated. The party said it holds evidence of fraud, violence, threats, corruption and prohibited software used to sway voters. It did not publish any of that evidence in the statement.

Related: Netanyahu Alleges Voter Fraud Behind Arab Parties’ Gains; Arab Leaders Accuse Him of Incitement

RelatedNetanyahu Alleges Voter Fraud Behind Arab Parties’ Gains; Arab Leaders Accuse Him of Incitement

State of the count

The central election commission reported that roughly 93 per cent of regular ballots had been tallied, equal to 85.6 per cent of all votes cast. On those figures, the bloc led by Netanyahu, now the outgoing prime minister, holds 53 seats. The bloc headed by Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, holds 48. A majority in the 120-seat parliament requires 61.

The commission described the results as not yet final but said it expects the seat numbers to stay the same. The remaining 7 per cent of regular ballots need further verification and will be added in the coming days. A further 480,000 ballots cast by military personnel, police officers and diplomats have yet to be counted.

Opposition moves

The leader of the Joint List said he was “ready to pave the way” for toppling the government. The Times of Israel reported that the opposition wants to remove Likud’s Amir Ohana as Speaker of the Knesset, with the backing of the Arab parties.