Israel's election committee says the 27 October vote stands despite Likud fraud claims

Election committee says the vote stands

On Sunday, 1 November, Central Elections Committee head Noam Sohlberg said the results of the 27 October election would hold even if suspicions of foreign interference were confirmed. He spoke in a recorded video alongside the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, David Zini, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, a joint appearance that POLITICO said signalled officials were on the same page. He framed the committee's stance plainly:

“Our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole.”

Sohlberg said the suspicions concern funding from abroad meant to influence the vote and may carry security implications, but stressed that for now they remain only suspicions. He said the probe must in no way cast doubt on the vote of the Arab community. He also announced a joint team, led by the Shin Bet, the police and the State Prosecution, that will be set up to establish the facts.

Likud's claims and the arrests

Likud has said, without providing evidence, that Arab-led parties 'stole' the election and accepted funding from Qatar to do so. Qatar has rejected the allegations and called them a disinformation campaign. The claims rest on several arrests. Police detained three political activists before polls opened on 27 October, and the activists were carrying envelopes of cash that police said were meant to bribe voters. Two days later, on 29 October, police arrested four more suspects, whom they said were connected to the Islamist party Ra'am, which denied any involvement.

On Sunday a court ordered the suspects in one case released, according to POLITICO. Al Jazeera reports that two of the three activists were let go, one on unspecified conditions and another ordered to remain under house arrest, while BFMTV reports one release and another kept in pretrial detention. Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas condemned the detentions as anti-democratic, calling them "an attempt to influence the election results". Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of running an "orchestrated and organised campaign" to delegitimise the results.

A deadlock over government formation

The 27 October vote left neither bloc with a majority. Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats and the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot won 48, which means neither side can form a government alone in the 120-seat Knesset. Three Arab-led parties together won a record 19 seats, with Ra'am taking eight of them. Eisenkot had earlier ruled out a coalition with Arab parties, yet a bloc combining his side with them would hold 67 seats, a option many in Israel find politically unpalatable.

Netanyahu's bloc53

Eisenkot-led opposition bloc48

Three Arab-led parties19

Netanyahu's bloc

53 seats

Eisenkot-led opposition bloc

48 seats

Three Arab-led parties

19 seats

Data from the article text

POLITICO reports that Netanyahu's challenge to the vote appears aimed at blocking any opposition alliance with Arab parties that could force him from office. The results are due to be officially certified in the week of 2 November 2026. After certification, President Isaac Herzog must nominate a candidate to form a new government.