rki.news | Source: Anadolu
More than 29,000 double-envelope ballots, around 6% of the total, have been counted in Israel’s elections, with counting expected to conclude Thursday afternoon, Israeli media reported.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that 29,253 ballots had been counted out of nearly 500,000.
These ballots are cast away from registered polling stations by soldiers, diplomats, police officers and displaced residents.
Officials verify identification details on outer envelopes to prevent duplicate voting before separating them from anonymous ballots.
The remaining votes could affect party seat totals and the balance between rival blocs.
According to Channel 12, after regular ballots were counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 53 seats. The opposition bloc led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot was projected to secure 48 seats, while predominantly Arab parties were projected to win 19.
Neither main bloc was projected to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority in Israel’s 120-member Knesset.
The Joint List was projected to win 12 seats and the United Arab List (Ra’am) seven, giving Arab parties 19 seats combined.
Voter turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999, according to the Central Elections Committee.
Israel Counts Double-Envelope Votes as Seat Totals May Shift
