Exit polls give Netanyahu's bloc lead in Israeli parliamentary elections

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Early exit polls Tuesday showed the bloc of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the lead in the country’s parliamentary elections.

According to the samples, Netanyahu's right-wing bloc gained 61 or 62 members in the 120-member Knesset, allowing him to form a government with a narrow majority.

His opponent Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s bloc gained 54 seats.

The official results are expected to be announced Thursday or Friday.

Israeli polling stations closed late Tuesday after seeing the highest voter turnout for general elections since 1999, according to electoral authorities.

The high turnout came in the country’s fifth general elections in less than four years.

The Central Elections Committee said that as of 8 p.m. local time (1800GMT), voter turnout was at 66.3%, with nearly 4.5 million people having already cast their ballots.

Polling stations closed at 10 p.m. (2000GMT). Around 6.7 million voters were eligible to cast ballots in Tuesday’s polls.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar