Kochi: Israel recorded 55.7 per cent by 4pm while incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu is almost neck-and-neck with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot for occupying Prime Minister’s post.
Neither of their coalitions are projected to win the 61 seats needed to form a majority government, BBC reported.
There were reports of alleged irregularities at polling stations across the country – but Israel’s Central Election Committee (CEC) says there is no evidence of systematic tampering with ballot slips.
Eisenkot leads the newly formed Yashar Party, a collection of parties aiming to oust Netanyahu who heads the Likud Party.
Other leaders in the bloc include former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman – both right-wingers who take hardline positions on security – and Yair Golan, a left-leaning former general.
Netanyahu first served as prime minister in 1996. There are two Arab party blocs in the running too. One-fifth of Israel’s population is Arab could prove to be kingmakers while the leading Jewish parties have refused to work with them.
The opposition bloc is blaming Netanyahu for the security failure that led to the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Nearly 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages in the teŕror attack..
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