Key points
- Turnout reached 66.7% by 6pm, the highest at that hour since 1973, against 57.7% at the same hour in 2022.
- Polls opened at 7am for 7,331,981 registered voters at 12,018 polling stations, and were due to close at 10pm.
- Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, faces former army chief Gadi Eisenkot; neither camp was projected to win the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
- Exit polls were expected at about 10pm, with official results due on 4 November.
Israelis have voted in record numbers in the first general election since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, delivering what voters themselves described as the most consequential verdict in the country's history. By 6pm on Tuesday, 66.7% of eligible voters had cast a ballot, according to the Central Elections Committee — the highest turnout at that hour since 1973, and far ahead of the 57.7% recorded at the same hour in the 2022 election. More than four million people had already voted by that point, and the committee was considering keeping polling stations open beyond the scheduled 10pm close if voters were still in line.
The surge ran all day. Turnout stood at 16.68% by 10am, the highest in 45 years, then 31.5% by noon — the highest noon figure since 1973, against 28.4% in 2022 — and 44.9% by 2pm, again the highest at that hour since 1973. By 4pm it had reached 55.7%, the highest ever recorded at that hour. Long lines formed at polling stations across the country, and election officials issued instructions aimed at speeding up the process. Read more: Students defeat Vucic in Serbia — how a protest movement took parliament
The key figures
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible voters | 7,331,981 | Central Elections Committee |
| Polling stations | 12,018 | Central Elections Committee |
| Turnout by 6pm | 66.7% (57.7% in 2022) | Central Elections Committee |
| Turnout by noon | 31.5% (28.4% in 2022) | Central Elections Committee |
| Knesset seats | 120 (61 for a majority) | Constitution |
| Official results expected | 4 November 2026 | Reports |
A referendum on Netanyahu
The election has taken on the character of a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, who has been at the centre of power for 19 years. The Washington Post described the vote as a verdict on Netanyahu and his response to the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and triggered three years of regional war. The Financial Times called it the most important election in the country's roughly 80-year history, and said the race was extremely close. Netanyahu voted in Jerusalem alongside his wife Sara, urging Israelis to "Go vote!" and appealing urgently to right-wing voters to turn out in large numbers, warning that high turnout among Arab voters could produce a government dependent on Arab parties. United States President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed him.
His main challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, whose centrist Yashar party led Netanyahu's Likud in several final opinion polls. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett leads a separate opposition alliance with Yair Lapid. There was also a scare on the campaign trail: a man with a large knife was arrested near opposition leader Yair Golan in Tel Aviv's Mesila Park, after approaching him in what Golan described as an intimidating manner. Golan said the incident was "the direct result of the poison machine operated by" Netanyahu "and his Qatari agents" — an accusation from the opposition leader, not an established fact. An estimated 80,000 citizens living abroad were expected to return home to cast ballots.
What happens next
Exit polls were expected at about 10pm, with the first indication of the actual vote count emerging in the early hours of the morning. A full picture will take longer, and may depend on the electoral fortunes of two small parties, which need 3.25% of the overall vote to take up seats in the Knesset. Official results are expected on 4 November. If, as projected, neither camp wins 61 seats outright, coalition talks — not election night — will decide who governs Israel next. Europe Unfolded will report the confirmed results when they are published, not the claims made before them.
Updates & corrections
Published 27 October 2026.
No updates or corrections have been made to this article since publication.
Sources
- ABP Live, 27 October 2026, on turnout reaching 67% by 6pm and the shape of the contest: news.abplive.com
- The Indian Express, 27 October 2026, live coverage of voting, turnout milestones and the candidates: indianexpress.com
- Seoul Economic Daily, 27 October 2026, on the 45-year turnout high and the referendum character of the vote: en.sedaily.com
- Lokmat Times (PTI), 27 October 2026, on the record turnout and the expected results timetable: lokmattimes.com