Israeli Elections 2026: When They Will Be Held, Why, Who the Candidates Are, and When the Result Will Be Known

Israelis are not directly electing a prime minister. They are choosing among party lists for all 120 seats in the Knesset, the country’s parliament. The result will determine which political bloc can build the next government. The election is especially important because it is the first national vote after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and the wars that followed.

Benjamin Netanyahu leads Likud and is running again after serving about 19 years across three periods. He was prime minister from 1996 to 1999, from 2009 to 2021, and from December 2022 onward. His political future is therefore a central issue in the campaign.

The vote is widely viewed as a referendum on security policy after October 7 and on Netanyahu’s leadership. He faces an opposition led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot. Recent polls place Eisenkot’s party level with, or ahead of, Likud, but neither main bloc is expected to win a majority alone.

The Knesset is Israel’s national parliament. It has 120 seats, and elections renew all of them. Because Israelis vote for party lists rather than directly for a prime minister, the Knesset election is also the main route to forming a government.

After the votes are counted, the distribution of seats shows the strength of each party and bloc. A party or alliance that can command parliamentary support can seek to form a government. In practice, this may require agreements among several parties because the two main blocs often fall short of 61 seats.

The article describes the October 27 election as a contest between Netanyahu’s governing bloc and an opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot. Recent polls show neither bloc reaching a majority alone. The next government will therefore depend on the seats won by the main lists and on possible support from smaller parties, including Arab parties outside both blocs.

Around 7.3 million Israeli citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote, according to the Central Elections Commission. They are choosing the 26th Knesset, which has 120 seats. The election is held on Tuesday, October 27, and voting is conducted on paper.

Most polling stations open from 7:00 to 22:00 local time. That corresponds to 6:00 to 21:00 in Italy. Smaller communities, hospitals, and prisons use shorter hours. Anyone already waiting when a station closes can still vote. Soldiers vote at military polling stations before election day.

At 22:00 in Israel, or 21:00 in Italy, television networks publish exit polls. Manual counting continues through the night. The article says nearly final results usually arrive by the following morning. Double-envelope ballots, including votes from soldiers, hospitals, prisons, and diplomatic missions, are counted last.

If no party or bloc wins a majority, Israel must rely on coalition-building. A majority in the 120-seat Knesset requires at least 61 seats. The winning side is therefore not necessarily the largest party; it is the side that can assemble enough parliamentary support to govern.

For example, several parties may agree to join one coalition, or a smaller party may support a government without formally entering it. The prime minister’s position then depends on maintaining that support during votes in the Knesset. If negotiations fail, the government cannot be formed normally and the political process may continue until an alternative coalition is found or another election is called.

The source article does not describe the legal steps after a deadlocked result. It does show why this issue matters: recent polls put Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition nearly level, with neither reaching a majority alone. Smaller religious, nationalist, or Arab parties could therefore become decisive.

Israel uses nationwide proportional representation: voters choose a party list, and seats are distributed broadly according to each qualifying list’s share of the national vote. This differs from a district system, where candidates compete for separate geographic constituencies. The approach gives smaller parties a route into parliament.

For example, voters place one party’s paper slip in an envelope. After counting, the national totals are converted into seats among the Knesset’s 120 positions. A party that wins a larger share receives more seats, while parties below the legal threshold receive none. The exact allocation formula is not described in the source article.

This system helps explain why coalition politics matters. The article lists several parties in Netanyahu’s bloc, the opposition, and outside both blocs. Since polls show no main bloc reaching a majority alone, the final seat distribution will determine which combinations can support a government and who can become prime minister.

Israel’s electoral threshold is 3.25% of the valid national vote. A party that falls below it is excluded from the Knesset, even if it receives many thousands of votes. Those votes do not translate into seats, so the parties above the threshold divide the available representation.

For example, the source places Am Yisrael, Riservisti-Partito economico, and other lists near the threshold. If one of them crosses it, that party can gain parliamentary seats. If it misses, its votes produce no seats. This changes the effective balance between the larger parties and blocs, although the source does not explain the mathematical allocation formula.

The threshold can therefore influence coalition negotiations without changing the headline winner. A small party that enters parliament may provide crucial seats to reach 61. Conversely, a party just below the line may leave its supporters unrepresented and make a larger bloc stronger in relative terms. The threshold figure is established electoral knowledge, not stated in the article.

Israel’s party system contains several competing lists, so the largest party or bloc may not control a majority. When the main camps are close, smaller parties can hold the seats needed to reach 61. Their support can determine whether a government is formed and which leader receives backing.

The article gives several examples. Netanyahu’s bloc includes Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit. Outside both blocs are the Arab parties United List and Ra’am. These parties may not lead the government, but their seats can become important if neither main camp reaches a majority.

Their influence comes through coalition negotiations or parliamentary support. They may seek policy commitments or ministerial roles, although the source does not describe specific bargaining demands. The article says the two blocs remain nearly tied and that Arab parties could be decisive. This makes smaller parties central to the question of whether Netanyahu or Gadi Eisenkot can lead the next government.