Israel's election watchdog rejects Netanyahu's fraud claims as rival Eisenkot is set to get the first shot at forming government
Israel's election commission acting director Dean Livne said every complaint was examined individually and thoroughly, but none supported claims the results were invalid.Change Bloc's 48 certified seats left it short of the 61 needed for a majority, while Arab parties secured a historic 19 seats.
Israel's election commission certified the recent vote as untainted by fraud, dismissing Netanyahu's repeated claims that Arab-led parties had manipulated the result. President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results on Wednesday and is expected to hand opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the first mandate to try to form a coalition government within hours.
Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats to Eisenkot's 48, but both fall short of the 61 needed for a majority.
The Arab parties Ra'am and the Joint List won a combined 19 seats and are likely to back Eisenkot, potentially pushing him over the threshold.
A separate Shin Bet probe into alleged foreign interference in the vote remains ongoing despite the commission's clean bill of health.
