Israel Certifies Election Amid Fraud Probes

Nine thousand and sixty-nine polling station protocols were reviewed by the Central Election Committee, and the body found no irregularities that compromised the vote's integrity. This review formed the basis for the formal certification of the October 27 election results, a process that concluded on Wednesday.

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the committee, presented the certified results to President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence. The certification followed a plenum vote where 15 opposition representatives approved the outcome. The 14 representatives from the outgoing coalition abstained, while two members of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party voted against. A preliminary vote by the committee’s five-member presidium also saw the outgoing coalition abstain.

Sohlberg warned that questioning the official results poses a danger to Israeli democracy. He stated that a peaceful transfer of power is a foundational element of democratic systems. He added that even if suspicions of fraud in the Arab community were proven true, the extent of the alleged wrongdoing would likely be insufficient to alter the final outcome.

President Herzog accepted the results and expressed confidence in the law enforcement agencies investigating the claims. He condemned what he described as coarse and racist rhetoric directed at Arab Israelis during the political discourse. Herzog urged political factions to find compromises to form a government and avoid new elections due to the current political deadlock.

The certification proceeded despite two active investigations into potential irregularities. A joint probe by the Shin Bet and Mossad is examining intelligence suggesting that money from Qatar and other nations reached the Joint List of Arab parties through disguised donations. The Shin Bet informed the committee that this intelligence points to widespread foreign funding and influence operations involving thousands of people. The agency noted that the money came from actors with concealed or hostile interests, though further work is needed to determine the full scale. No public evidence shows this activity changed the vote count.

A separate police investigation is examining allegations of vote-buying in the Negev region. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reacted strongly to the findings, calling for the arrest of Arab party leaders for questioning. He demanded an immediate freeze on the certification process, arguing that the election was stolen. Likud MK Amit Halevi resigned from the committee, stating that the body should certify the choice of citizens rather than foreign rulers.

The results were published in the state gazette as required by law. Herzog will begin consultations with Knesset factions to determine who receives the mandate to form a government. The designated leader has 42 days to build a coalition.