Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has 120 seats, and a government needs 61 of them. With exit polls giving no bloc a majority, here is how coalition talks, kingmakers and repeat elections work.
Updated: October 28, 2026, 1:45 PM IST
Quick Read:
- The Knesset has 120 seats. A government needs 61 — one more than half.
- Israel votes by party list, not by constituency. Voters pick a party, and seats are shared out in proportion to votes.
- If no bloc reaches 61, the president asks a party leader to try to build a coalition. If that fails, another leader tries — and if all fail, Israel votes again.
The basic rule: 61 out of 120
Israel’s parliament is called the Knesset. It has 120 seats. A government needs the support of at least 61 members — one more than half. That number, 61, is the whole game in Israeli politics. No single party has ever won 61 seats on its own. So every Israeli government is a coalition: several parties that agree to govern together, adding up their seats to reach 61 or more. The party leader who builds that coalition becomes prime minister. That is why exit polls that show “Likud first” do not mean “Likud governs”. In the October 27 election, Likud is the largest single party, with 24-27 seats in the exit polls. But Likud’s bloc as a whole is at 50 seats. A party can finish first and still be 11 seats short of government.
Also read: Likud first, no winner: Israel heads for deadlock
How Israelis vote
Israel does not have constituencies like India or Britain. The whole country is one constituency. Voters pick a party, not a local candidate. Each party publishes a list of candidates in order. Seats are then shared out in proportion to the votes each party gets. There is one filter: a party must win at least 3.25 per cent of the national vote to enter the Knesset at all. Parties below that line get no seats, and their votes are effectively wasted. That threshold is why small parties fight so hard to cross it — and why the final seat count can shift by a seat or two as the last votes are counted. This system produces many parties. The October 2026 Knesset will have parties from the right, the centre, the left, religious parties, and Arab-led parties — each with its own voters and its own red lines.
Blocs: why 50 + 53 does not make 103
Israeli politics is usually counted in blocs, not just parties. The three blocs in this election are: Netanyahu’s bloc (Likud plus its allies), the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar plus other Jewish opposition parties), and the Arab-led parties. The exit polls put Netanyahu’s bloc at 50, the opposition at 52-53, and the Arab parties at 17-18. Those numbers add to 120, but they do not add to a government — because a government needs one combination that reaches 61, and no combination is obvious. The opposition’s 52-53 plus the Arab parties’ 17-18 would be 69-71 — a majority. But Eisenkot has ruled out governing with the Arab parties, saying they do not meet four criteria he set. He has said he could instead form a minority government — governing with fewer than 61 seats, surviving vote by vote, without asking anything of the Arab factions. Minority governments are fragile: every vote becomes a negotiation. Netanyahu’s side faces the mirror problem. His 50 seats plus any party willing to join him still fall short unless he can peel parties away from the opposition or win Arab support — both difficult after a campaign fought on those very divisions.
Who picks the prime minister
After the official results are published, Israel’s president holds consultations with every party and then asks one party leader — usually the one most likely to build a 61-seat coalition — to try to form a government. That leader gets a set number of days to negotiate. If the first leader fails, the president can ask another leader. If no one can build a coalition, the Knesset can dissolve itself, and Israel goes back to the polls. Israel has done this before: between 2019 and 2022, it held five elections in under four years, largely because no bloc could hold 61 seats. That history is why analysts warn of “months of coalition talks and possibly another election” after this vote. A caretaker government runs the country in the meantime. It can still take security decisions — which is why a long deadlock worries markets and neighbours even before a new government exists.
Also read: India rejects veto-less UNSC seat
Why Arab parties matter this time
Arab-led parties winning 17-18 seats is a record, up from 10. They represent about a fifth of Israel’s electorate. Their rise changes the arithmetic for everyone: no bloc can now reach 61 while ignoring them, yet both main blocs have promised, in different ways, not to depend on them. This is the classic kingmaker position: a group that cannot govern alone, but without which nobody else can govern either. Whether the Arab parties join a coalition, support one from outside, or stay out entirely will decide whether Israel gets a government from this election — or goes back to vote again.
FAQ
Q: How many seats does a government need in Israel? A: Sixty-one out of 120 Knesset seats — one more than half. No single party has ever won 61 alone, so every government is a coalition.
Q: What happens if no bloc reaches 61? A: The president asks a party leader to try to build a coalition. If that fails, another leader tries. If all fail, the Knesset dissolves and Israel holds another election.
Q: Why are Arab parties so important in this election? A: They are projected to win a record 17-18 seats. Neither main bloc can reach 61 without them or without breaking old promises, so they hold the balance of power.
Sources: Exit polls (Kan 11, Channel 12, Channel 13, i24NEWS, October 27-28, 2026, via Times Now, Haaretz, Daily Pioneer, News18); Central Elections Committee (turnout, results timetable); Knesset electoral system (120 seats, 3.25 per cent threshold, coalition formation process).
