Israeli president accepts election results as legally binding

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ISRAELI President Isaac Herzog accepted the results from last week’s parliamentary elections as legally binding today, and said he would begin consultations with party representatives on the formation of a new government.

Mr Herzog’s acceptance of the results dealt a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effort to discredit the vote in which his far-right bloc lost its majority in the Knesset, while Arab-led parties made historic gains.

Mr Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the Arab-led parties had “stolen” the election, possibly with foreign assistance.

But Israel’s election commission said today that after a thorough investigation of all parties’ claims of fraud it had found “no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results.”

A separate investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence service, headed by Netanyahu appointee and loyalist David Zini, into allegations of foreign interference in the election is still ongoing.

Neither Mr Netanyahu’s bloc nor the rival bloc led but opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot secured a parliamentary majority needed to form a new government, raising the possibility of an alliance between the two rivals or an alliance between Mr Eisenkot and some of the Arab-led parties.

Israel’s president is now expected to begin a series of sit-downs with political parties. The meetings are expected to unfold over the next several days.

Mr Herzog is then to choose the candidate, most likely Mr Netanyahu or Mr Eisenkot, who he believes is most likely to be able to form a coalition government, setting the stage for weeks of negotiations.

If neither man can put together a government, the country would hold a new election early next year.

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