The Central Elections Committee's plenum on Wednesday approved the final results of the elections to the 26th Knesset and the allocation of parliamentary seats, following the completion of vote counting and a review of the results. The motion passed with 15 members voting in favor, two opposed and 14 abstaining.
During the meeting, Central Elections Committee Chairman and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg addressed suspicions surrounding the electoral process, clarifying that they did not warrant delaying approval of the results. Sohlberg emphasized that the allegations were still being examined by the relevant authorities and had not been substantiated. He said they did not currently justify questioning the integrity of the elections as a whole and urged all parties involved to cooperate with the investigation.
"As everyone knows, one of the central features of the democratic system is the possibility of a peaceful transfer of power. This has been the case since the establishment of the state and remains so today," Sohlberg said. "Political upheavals, surprises and fierce disagreements have never undermined the basic consensus that election results must be respected. This is a very precious asset for our country. We must treat it with great care. It is easy to break, but very difficult to repair."
According to the final allocation, Likud emerged as the largest party with 27 seats, followed by Yashar with 21 and Beyachad with 12. The Joint List won 11 seats, while the Democrats and UAL secured eight each. Yisrael Beytenu, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism each received seven seats, while Shas and the Religious Zionist Party won six apiece.
Earlier Wednesday, the Elections Committee announced that it had completed a review of records from 9,069 polling stations, representing approximately 75% of all regular polling stations. The review found no evidence that the integrity of the elections had been compromised or that the results had been altered.
The investigation into suspected foreign interference will nevertheless continue. Officials have stressed that the existence of suspicions does not necessarily mean that the election results were manipulated or that any interference occurred on a scale that would justify invalidating the vote.
The approval paves the way for the formal submission of the election results to President Isaac Herzog and the beginning of consultations with representatives of the Knesset factions. Following the consultations, President Herzog will decide whom to task with forming the next government.