Israel Election 2026 Guide: How the Knesset Vote Works
Israel election 2026: Israelis vote Oct. 27 for the 26th Knesset. How ballots become seats, when results are due and how a prime minister is chosen.
JERUSALEM, Oct. 24, 2026 — Israelis vote on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the election for the 26th Knesset, and the result will shape the war with Iran, the Gaza ceasefire and relations with Washington. This guide explains the Israel election 2026 process step by step: who can vote, how ballots become seats, when results are due and how a prime minister is chosen afterward.
Who votes and what is on the ballot
About 7,331,981 Israelis are eligible to vote, or 71.15% of the population, according to a JTA guide published by The Times of Israel. Voters choose a party list, not an individual candidate, and the guide counts 38 registered parties.
Turnout in the last election, in 2022, was 70.63%, the same guide says. Some 50,000 Israelis living abroad are being urged by activist networks to fly home to vote, The Times of Israel reported.
How votes become Knesset seats
A list must win at least 3.25% of the votes cast to enter the 120-seat Knesset, a threshold the JTA guide says equals four seats. Lists above the line receive seats in proportion to their vote share, and parties rank their candidates in advance, through primaries or a decision by the leader. Based on recent polls, the guide expects only 11 of the 38 lists to pass, with four more hovering close.
That arithmetic turns voting into what the guide calls “a strategy game”: backing a small list that might miss the threshold risks a wasted vote, while backing a large one may dilute a voter’s preferred policy.
Where the race stands
The Congressional Research Service, which advises the U.S. Congress, described the field in its July report, Israel: Major Issues and U.S. Relations. It lists Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud on one side and challengers including former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar and former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s alliance with Yair Lapid on the other. CRS wrote that, “based on polling to date, it is unclear whether parties supporting Netanyahu or those opposing him may be likely to garner the necessary Knesset majority.”
The final Zman Yisrael poll for The Times of Israel, published Oct. 22, supports that view. It gives each bloc 51 seats, with Yashar at 23 and Likud at 21. The Arab-majority Joint List and Ra’am would add 9 and 5 seats, but the paper reports that Eisenkot and almost every other Zionist opposition party have pledged not to sit in a coalition with them. Yoaz Hendel’s new Reservists party, which has not joined either bloc, polled 3.6%, just above the threshold. The survey of 500 respondents has a margin of error of 4.4 points.
Our earlier report covers President Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu and the rivals’ responses, so this guide does not repeat it.
When results are expected
The Central Elections Committee has estimated that final results will be published on Thursday, Oct. 29, at noon, Ynet reported. The legal deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 4. The 120 newly elected members are sworn in 14 days after the vote, and the Knesset can legislate even before a government is formed, according to the JTA guide.
How a prime minister is chosen
The ballot does not elect a prime minister directly. Within seven days of the official results, President Isaac Herzog consults every party leader and then gives the mandate to the Knesset member he judges best able to form a coalition. That person does not have to lead the largest party.
The timeline that follows, as set out in the JTA guide:
- The first candidate has 28 days to build a government, with a possible 14-day extension.
- If that fails, the president may give a second candidate 28 days, with no extension.
- If the second attempt fails, 61 lawmakers have 21 days to ask the president to appoint a third candidate, who gets 14 days.
- If no government wins a Knesset majority, the Knesset dissolves and a new 90-day election cycle begins.
The outgoing government stays in office as a caretaker throughout. CRS notes that a deadlock could produce either a broader coalition including Likud and some current opposition parties, or a caretaker government led by Netanyahu while Israel prepares for “another round of elections in early 2027.” Netanyahu led caretaker governments for more than a year in 2019 and 2020, the report says.
Why it matters beyond Israel
For the United States, the next government will negotiate the follow-on to the military aid agreement that expires in 2028, a subject CRS says U.S. and Israeli officials have reportedly begun discussing. For readers following the region, the outcome will affect Israel’s role in the Iran war, the Lebanon talks and the Gaza ceasefire.
Visitors in Israel around Election Day should note the State Department’s Israel travel advisory, which stands at Level 3, “Reconsider travel,” and warns that “demonstrations are common” and “can be unpredictable.”
What to watch
- Threshold parties: Lists polling near 3.25% could decide whether either bloc reaches 61 seats.
- Recommendations to Herzog: Which leaders back which candidate during consultations will signal who gets the first mandate.
- Coalition terms: Pledges about the Arab-majority parties and the ultra-Orthodox parties will determine which majorities are possible.
Daily coverage of Israel’s fronts continues in the Middle East War Room, and statements by the main candidates are logged in the Quote Tracker.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service: Israel: Major Issues and U.S. Relations (R44245, July 2, 2026)
- U.S. State Department: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Travel Advisory
- The Times of Israel (JTA): 2026 Israeli elections: What you need to know
