Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “It is a night of colossal victory,” early on Wednesday after updated exit polls of the country’s national elections yesterday showed Netanyahu’s Likud winning more parliamentary seats than his main challenger Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White Party. One of three surveys put Blue and White a seat ahead of Likud.
Earlier, Gantz also claimed victory but exit polls and early results indicated on Wednesday (April 10) the veteran right-wing leader was on course for a record fifth term.
Though neither party captured a ruling majority in the 120-member Knesset, according to the polls, the surveys put Netanyahu in a stronger position to form a coalition government with right-wing factions, key to an ultimate victory.
Netanyahu’s prospects of becoming Israel’s longest-serving prime minister appeared to improve as the night went on. Partial results with 40 percent of votes counted gave Likud 40 seats, 10 more than in the previous election in 2015, and Blue and White 35, according to Kan public television and the Ynet news site.
Netanyahu, in power consecutively since 2009, has been fighting for his political survival. The closely contested race was widely seen in Israel as a referendum on his character and record in the face of corruption allegations.
He faces possible indictment in three graft cases, and has denied wrongdoing in all three.
