In Israel, No One Wins Without 61 Seats
With many parties splitting 120 seats, the path to prime minister runs through a 61-seat coalition.
Up First from NPR · Trump Rallies For Republicans, Israel Election Results, Fed Interest Rates MeetingIn Israel, getting the most votes does not settle who governs. The vote count starts the negotiating for a government, it does not end it.
That follows from the structure. Israel's legislature, the Knesset, holds 120 seats divided among a crowded field of parties rather than two dominant ones. No single party can win a majority on its own.
After the election, a leader must therefore assemble support from several parties to become prime minister. A majority needs 61 seats, or one more than half the chamber, and that support usually comes through a coalition.
In the current race, that task falls to sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to his main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the opposition. Each must gather backing from 61 lawmakers to govern.
The latest count shows why that is difficult. "With a majority of the votes counted so far, the race is in a deadlock," said NPR correspondent Daniel Estrin the morning after voting, with officials still counting and expecting to finish by the next afternoon.
For now, neither candidate can yet show a dependable route to a majority coalition. Eisenkot appears to have support from a majority of lawmakers, helped by a historically strong showing by Arab-led parties that back him, but most of his camp has resisted joining forces with Arab parties after the mistrust that followed the October 7th attacks.
So the winner is whoever can line up 61 seats.
Questions people ask
How do parties win seats in the Knesset?
Israel uses nationwide proportional representation. Voters choose a party, not an individual candidate, and seats are divided roughly in proportion to each party's share of the vote, as long as it clears a threshold of 3.25%. That system is why many small parties can enter parliament.
What happens if no one can assemble 61 seats?
Israel's president typically asks the candidate with the best chance to try to form a government. That person gets a set period to negotiate with other parties. If the talks fail, the mandate can pass to another candidate, and if no coalition emerges, Israel can hold another election.
Why does 61 matter so much?
Sixty-one is the smallest majority in a 120-seat chamber. With 61 votes, a coalition can pass laws, approve a budget, and survive no-confidence votes. With 60 or fewer, rival parties can block or bring down the government.