Veteran Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on the cusp of returning to power Wednesday, with initial election results showing his alliance with the extreme right taking a narrow lead.
With around 84 percent of the vote counted at 0755 GMT, according to the Central Elections Committee, Netanyahu could be set for a dramatic comeback.
“We are close to a big victory,” he told supporters of his right-wing Likud party at a rally early Wednesday.
But his main rival, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, told his own supporters in Tel Aviv that “nothing is decided”, and that his centrist Yesh Atid party “will wait patiently… for the final results”.
The two rivals are vying for a majority coalition in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, with initial results putting Netanyahu’s bloc ahead after the country’s fifth election in four years.
The former premier is buoyed by the rise of the extreme-right Religious Zionism bloc of Itamar Ben-Gvir, which made major gains and is expected to emerge as the third-largest party.
“Netanyahu wants a decisive victory; Lapid hopes for a tie, Ben-Gvir celebrates,” read the front page of Israel’s influential Yediot Aharonot newspaper, as rivals of Israel’s longest-serving premier hold their breath.
But small parties whose seats could play a crucial role in coalition talks are teetering on the edge of the electoral threshold.
The margins appear wafer-thin and previous elections have shown that slight adjustments during the count can make or break a government.
High turnout
The early signs were positive for the 73-year-old Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges that he denies.
The official count put Likud on track for a first-place finish, with 31 seats.
That number, combined with current tallies for the extreme-right Religious Zionism alliance and the two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties backing Netanyahu, would give the bloc 65 seats.
An outright…
Source : france24
