As counting gets underway in Israel's unprecedented third election in 11 months, initial exit polls projected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party as the winners. But even if the final results bear out these projections from Israel's three main news channels, Netanyahu will still need to find partners to form a coalition government with a majority in the 120-seat parliament.

Just after polling stations closed across Israel at 10 p.m. local time, the Israeli TV stations flashed the result of their individual exit polls – all showing Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party ahead of former military chief, Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White Party.

With almost one quarter of the votes counted, all three main TV stations are projecting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party will finish between three and five seats ahead of its main rival, the Blue and White party of Benny Gantz. But all three channels continue to project that a bloc made up of Likud plus Netanyahu’s preferred coalition partners – the hardline right wing Yamina, along with the two religious parties – would win 59 seats, which is two seats short of an overall majority.

Addressing Likud supporters at the party’s election night headquarters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu declared victory “against all the odds.” He said he had withstood tremendous forces. “People said the Netanyahu era was over,” he declared.

Later on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he would convene with the other right-wing and religious parties with the aim of forming a “strong, national government for the state of Israel.”

Israel’s right-wing parties claimed victory after the exit polls projected a bloc led by Netanyahu – made up of his Likud, the hardline right-wing Yamina, and the two religious parties – on track to secure 60 seats.

It is not clear at this stage from where Netanyahu will take the extra seat, or seats, he would need to get a majority in parliament.
Back in April’s election, the same bloc of parties secured 60 seats in the Knesset but he was still unable to form a government.

Gantz, meanwhile, has refused to concede defeat but told supporters at his election night headquarters in Tel Aviv that he said he shared their feeling of disappointment and pain.

Twenty-nine parties contested this election. It is expected that either eight or possibly nine parties should make it over the 3.25 percent threshold required to win representation in the 120-seat Knesset.

Israel’s third election in less than a year reflects a political system in deadlock.

Following the last poll in September, both Netanyahu and Gantz were given the chance to try to form a government but neither man was successful in building a coalition with a 61-seat majority. Gantz refused point-blank to sit in a government with Netanyahu due to the charges against the prime minister, while Netanyahu refused to go second in any rotating prime ministership with Gantz.

Casting his vote Monday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin castigated the country’s politicians.

“We don’t deserve another awful and grubby election campaign like the one that ends today, and we don’t deserve this never-ending instability. We deserve a government that works for us.”

Netanyahu is seeking his fifth term as Israel’s prime minister – he is already the country’s longest-ever serving leader, having surpassed David Ben-Gurion’s 4,875 days in office last summer.

Even though he has been under criminal investigation for several years, it was only in January that he was formally indicted on charges of bribery and fraud and breach of trust. He denies the accusations, and there was little during the campaign to suggest the indictments have had an impact on voters. Those Israelis who support him fully accept his complaints that the indictments are a witch hunt pursued by a liberal elite. And those Israelis who dislike the prime minister have been firm in that belief for years now.

Hopes are that more than 90 percent of the vote will be counted by 7 am local time on Wednesday, so the final arrangement of seats should be fairly clear by that point.

Next Sunday, all party leaders who have achieved representation in parliament are expected to begin consultations with Israel’s president over who should get first shot at building a coalition. The president will then formally ask one of the leaders to start coalition talks – on all but one occasion it has been the leader of the largest party – and they will then have a maximum of six weeks to agree on the shape of the next government. But as we have seen twice now, that might well prove impossible, paving the way for a fourth general election in late summer.