Netanyahu takes early lead as Likud-led bloc eyes majority

JERUSALEM: Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was within reach of a governing majority and of making a political comeback, initial projections showed after Israel’s elections on Tuesday, but the tally could shift as official results come in.

The margins appeared razor thin, as expected in the bitterly divided nation holding its fifth election in less than four years, but the early signs were positive for the veteran right-wing leader.

Projections from three Israeli networks put Netanyahu’s Likud on track for a first place finish, within 30 or 31 seats in the 120-member parliament, the Knesset.

That number, combined with projected tallies for the extreme-right Religious Zionism alliance and the two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties gave the bloc backing Netanyahu 61 or 62 seats, the first projections showed.

But those can change, and previous Israeli elections have shown that slight variations as the votes are officially counted can dramatically alter the outlook.

Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid was on track for its expected second place finish, with projections giving it between 22 and 24 seats.

But the anti-Netanyahu bloc as a whole was short of a win, according to the early forecasts from networks.

Concerns about voter fatigue were widespread, but as of 4pm turnout was the highest since 1999 at 47.5 percent, a rise of 5.2 percentage points compared with the last election in March 2021, according to the Central Elections Committee.

At a polling station in Tel Aviv, voter Amy Segal, 26, aired her frustration at being asked to vote yet again after years of deadlock.

“Each year there’s a new election, there’s no political stability,” she said. “I feel like it doesn’t matter who you vote for, nothing will change.”