Almost a week after Israelis went to the polls for the second time in five months, the Central Elections Committee announced Friday morning that it had counted nearly all of the ballots cast, all but ensuring that the Left would have a slight advantage in the 22nd Knesset.
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Less than 1% of the more than 4.4 million votes remain uncounted, the committee said, and the results will be certified on Tuesday.
Barring some major discovery of voter fraud, this means that Blue and White and its allies on the Left (including the Joint Arab List) are expected to get 57 seats, whereas Likud and its right-wing partners (including the ultra-Orthodox) will get 55 seats.
Yisrael Beytenu, which has refused to support either ideological bloc and insists on a unity government, will get 8 seats.
The 22nd Knesset will be inaugurated in early October, after which President Reuven Rivlin will ask an MK to form a government based on his assessment on the support that legislator enjoys in the Knesset.
Currently, because no bloc has an overall majority of the Knesset, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz could get tapped, although it is far from clear whether they will be able to assemble a governing coalition and win the confidence of the Knesset.
The process could drag on for months, especially if Rivlin's designated prime minister fails to form a government and a new MK gets the green light. However, Rivlin is most likely to pressure both sides to find a way to avert that scenario and work toward a unity government.
Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman vowed on Thursday that he would not support Netanyahu. This means that Gantz could get the first shot at forming a government.
Lieberman said he would decide on Sunday on his preferred choice of prime minister.
Lieberman said that Netanyahu is no longer part of the Right because he has allied himself with "messianic" and ultra-Orthodox factions.
