Israeli Exit Polls Show Incredibly Tight Race: Netanyahu Declares Victory
Exit polls for Israel’s elections today show a very tight race between the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Zionist Union alliance, led by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni.
Here’s the latest exit poll results, according to stats compiled by The Jerusalem Post:
There are 120 total seats in the Israel Knesset, meaning for any one party to have a decisive victory, they would need to take 61 seats. Otherwise, the work to build a coalition government would begin.
The neck-and-neck nature of the race is a bit of a comeback for Netanyahu, after a recent poll showed him getting four seats less than the opposition.
Netanyahu has already declared victory:
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s Netanyahu declares victory in tight election.
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) March 17, 2015
כנגד כל הסיכויים: ניצחון גדול לליכוד, ניצחון גדול למחנה הלאומי בראשות הליכוד, ניצחון גדול לעם ישראל
— בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 17, 2015
(That tweet roughly translates to, “Against all odds: a great victory for the Likud, a major victory for the national camp led by the Likud, a major victory for the people of Israel.”)
Netanyahu got international attention for his recent address to the U.S. Congress (which he used in a campaign ad). Herzog had previously said the speech “endangers” Israel’s security.
We will update this post with more election results as they come in.
Update- 5:01 pm EST: Moshe Kahlon, one of Netanyahu’s opponents and head of the Kulanu party, tweeted this out:
הישג ענק! תודה לכולם! pic.twitter.com/sJYXXioXFc
— משה כחלון (@KahlonMoshe) March 17, 2015
(That roughly translates to “A huge achievement! Thank you all!”)
Ban arabs from voting is his work for coming days are coming. …