Netanyahu’s the winner, exit polls show; highest turnout in decades

If exit polls are to be believed, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Opposition leader is well on his way to victory in elections with a projected win between 61 and 62 seats.

According to polls that often turn out to be incorrect in the days to come, Netanyahu’s Likud Party has the required 61-seat majority to form a government.

Prime Minister Yair Lepid’s current government has secured only 54-55 seats.

According to exit polls by broadcast networks, the Arab Hadash-Ta’al Party secured four seats. As the night progresses, exit poll results change.

According to Channel 11 or Channel 13, Likud won 31-33 seats.

Between 22-24, Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party won.

According to exit polls, the Religious Zionism party of Betzalel Shmotrich was the biggest winner. It won 14-15 seats.

Itamar Bengvir, the party that runs on Religious Zionism’s slate at Otzma Yehudit’s headquarters, held raucous celebrations, with men dancing and waving Israeli flags.

According to exit polls, the anti-Zionist Arab nationalist Balad party which seeks to eliminate the Jewish character of state and instead calls to create a “state that all its citizens” did not reach the electoral threshold.

But, if this happens tomorrow, it will also reshuffle everything and could affect the Netanyahu-held majority.

The highest voter turnout in over two decades was achieved by 66.3% of Israel’s 6,453,255 eligible citizens. They cast their ballots before 8 p.m., two hours before the polling stations closed.

According to estimates, Arab cities had the lowest turnout of under 50%.