With the Ra'am-Balad list confirming that it is not making a recommendation as to who should form the government, the final tally after two days of consultations between President Reuven Rivlin and the parties elected to the Knesset last week shows Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud Party with 65 recommendations, compared to 45 for Benny Gantz's Blue-and-White list.
That should give the nod to Netanyahu, despite a final tally tying the two lists at 35 Knesset seats for first place as individual parties. The Central Elections Committee is scheduled to present the results to Rivlin on Wednesday night, at which time he is expected to officially announce his decision.