According to the official up-to-the-minute tally¹, the Likud won 29 seats while the Zionist Union came in second with 24 seats. 

 

Netanyahu has already declared victory but opposition² leader Isaac Herzog said he refused to concede. 

 

"Against all odds³ we have achieved a great victory for the Likud party and the national camp," Netanyahu said during a speech on Tuesday night at the Tel Aviv Convention Center, citing an exit poll that showed a narrow lead for his party over the Zionist Union camp led by Herzog. 

 

Netanyahu said he would act promptly⁴ to establish a "strong and stable government" that would look for the "security and well-being⁵ of all Israeli citizens." 

 

Citing exit polls that showed him tied with Netanyahu in the polls, Herzog called on smaller parties to join a "socially-conscious government" headed by the Zionist Union. 

 

Herzog said that the results are not final yet, as some parties are on the edge of the electoral threshold and that could change the number of seats other parties have won. 

 

Under Israel's proportional representation system, voters vote for parties rather than individual candidates. 

 

The prime minister would be the one who could form a wide and stable coalition⁶ with at least 61 parliament seats to its name, not necessarily the leader of the party that won the most votes.

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