Israeli president rejects Netanyahu’s fraud claims, begins consultations on next government

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has accepted the certified results of the October 27 election and begun consultations on forming the next government, undermining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims that the vote was stolen. Neither Netanyahu’s 53-seat bloc nor rival Gadi Eisenkot’s 48-seat bloc won the 61 seats required to govern, leaving Arab-led parties, which secured a record 19 seats, as potential kingmakers. Herzog will choose a candidate after consultations end.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has accepted the certified results of last week’s parliamentary elections and begun consultations with party leaders on who should form the next government, Al Jazeera reports.

The move on Wednesday dealt a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to discredit the vote, in which he and his allies lost their majority in the 120-member Knesset.

“The elections are over. Now is the time to face reality,” Herzog said.

In the October 27 vote, Netanyahu’s coalition won 53 seats, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc secured 48, short of the 61 needed to govern. Arab-led parties Ra’am and the Joint List won a record 19 seats.

Ra’am said it would recommend Eisenkot, bringing his expected support to 56 lawmakers, according to Ynet. The Joint List has yet to announce its position.

Israel’s elections commission said it found “no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results.” Netanyahu and his supporters had claimed the Arab-led parties “stole” the election.

Herzog will choose a nominee, who will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension. Failure would trigger another election early next year.