Israel's 26th Knesset Elections: Voting Procedures and Expected Results

Good Morning, Israel · Tuesday, October 27, 2026 · 8:04

Good Morning, Israel · Episode 30

Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on Spotify

1. Israel's 26th Knesset Elections: Voting Procedures and Expected Results
2. Netanyahu Clashes With IDF Chief Over Iran Operation Ahead of Elections
3. Lula Wins Brazilian Presidency for Fourth Term; Bolsonaro Challenges Results
4. Hezbollah Prepares for New War With Israel Using Iranian Funds
5. Israel Health Ministry Warns Against Hair Straightener After Woman Hospitalized
6. Israel's Election Day: Voting Hours, Free Transport, and Weather Forecast

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Overcast
• Pocket Casts
• Castro
• Deezer
• RSS feed

Maya

Israelis are voting today, with thirty-six lists on offer for a new Knesset.

Daniel

And the reported clash between the Prime Minister and his army chief over Iran has a sharp new twist.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Tuesday, October twenty-seventh. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

Daniel, it's election day. Give people listening from abroad a sense of the scale.

Daniel

More than seven point three million eligible voters, twelve thousand and eighteen polling stations, and thirty-six lists competing for the Knesset, Israel's one hundred and twenty seat parliament.

Maya

Thirty-six lists. That's not a ballot, that's a menu.

Daniel

And the voter picks one dish. You choose a party slip, seal it in an envelope, and drop it in the box. You need valid identification to do it.

Maya

What are the hours?

Daniel

Polling stations open at seven in the morning and close at ten at night, Israel time.

Maya

And for people who can't easily get to their usual station?

Daniel

There are special arrangements for voters with disabilities, soldiers, police officers and hospital patients. And there's free intercity public transport, available from Tuesday evening.

Maya

The weather isn't cooperating, though.

Daniel

Not entirely. It's expected to be cooler, with scattered rain, and possible thunderstorms in the south.

Maya

So when do we actually know something?

Daniel

Preliminary results are expected overnight, by Wednesday morning. Final results take longer, because of what Israelis call double envelope votes.

Maya

Explain those.

Daniel

They're ballots cast outside the normal system, under those special arrangements, and they're counted separately. There are expected to be roughly six hundred thousand to six hundred and fifty thousand of them.

Maya

That's a lot of votes sitting in a pile while everyone celebrates or sulks.

Daniel

Exactly. And estimates for the final tally vary. One timeline says Thursday at noon, another says November fourth.

Maya

Why does that matter this time?

Daniel

Because, as we told you on Saturday, the final polls showed neither bloc reaching sixty-one seats, the majority needed to govern. In a race that tight, those late envelopes can move a seat, and a seat can decide who forms the next government.

Maya

So whatever the morning numbers say, nobody should be measuring the curtains just yet.

Daniel

Right.

Maya

Now Iran. Yesterday we told you about a reported dispute between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. What's new?

Daniel

Quite a bit. According to the reports, the argument was over a directive for a military operation against Iran before the election, and Zamir opposed it.

Maya

Because of escalation.

Daniel

Escalation and miscalculation, yes. But here's the new part. Senior security officials reportedly supported the operation, including the heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet.

Maya

That's Israel's foreign intelligence agency and its internal security service.

Daniel

Exactly. So it isn't simply politicians against the security establishment. According to these reports, the security chiefs themselves were divided.

Maya

And the government's public line?

Daniel

Defense Minister Israel Katz denied any intention to attack Iran before the vote. But he vowed a strong response if Israel is attacked.

Maya

There's also a report about Zamir's job.

Daniel

There is. Netanyahu allegedly threatened to dismiss Zamir if he wins the election. His office denies that.

Maya

So, a denied threat, a denied plan, and a vote happening right now.

Daniel

And underneath it, a real threat. The Iranian regime remains the main danger to Israel, and whoever forms the next government will have to set that policy, and work with that army chief, or decide not to.

Maya

Staying with Iran's reach, north to Lebanon.

Daniel

According to the reports, the terrorist organization Hezbollah has spent the last three months preparing for a possible new war with Israel, funded by tens of millions of dollars from Iran.

Maya

Spent on what?

Daniel

A military buildup, including drone development. Hezbollah is replenishing weapons and rebuilding command structures that were hit in earlier fighting with Israel.

Maya

What does Hezbollah say?

Daniel

It claims what it calls a right to resist Israeli presence in Lebanon. It also denies its command system was damaged.

Maya

Which is a strange thing to deny while you're busy rebuilding it.

Daniel

Right. And internally, according to the reports, the organization fears that renewed fighting would displace its own supporters again.

Maya

Why does this matter for Israel?

Daniel

Because it shows Tehran is still paying to rearm a terrorist organization on Israel's northern border. That's exactly the kind of buildup the I D F works to stop before it becomes a threat to Israeli towns.

Maya

Let's do a quick round. Brazil first, a story we touched on yesterday.

Daniel

With all the votes counted, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the runoff with fifty-one point seven nine percent. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro got forty-eight point two one.

Maya

And the new part?

Daniel

Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, hasn't conceded, and plans to challenge the result.

Maya

The Israeli angle?

Daniel

Lula's administration has been hostile toward Israel. The Bolsonaro camp has been pro-Israel. So Jerusalem has been watching this one closely.

Maya

Next, a report touching the Prime Minister's trial.

Daniel

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian billionaire James Packer transferred more than one point two five million dollars to the law firm representing Netanyahu.

Maya

Over what period?

Daniel

Two years, starting in September twenty twenty-four. Packer's representatives say the payments were for services unrelated to Netanyahu's trial.

Maya

Why is that sensitive?

Daniel

Because Packer is a listed witness in the bribery case. Prosecutors allege that he and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan gave the Prime Minister gifts worth millions of shekels.

Maya

And Netanyahu's position?

Daniel

He denies all the charges, and calls the trial a witch hunt.

Maya

Now a holiday that went sideways in Indonesia.

Daniel

About twenty Israeli women vacationing on the island of Gili Meno were accused of shoplifting on Friday. There was a confrontation with local shopkeepers and the authorities.

Maya

How did it end?

Daniel

Their belongings were searched, they were threatened with arrest, and they paid three thousand dollars to resolve the dispute. They left the island on Saturday and were back in Israel on Sunday.

Maya

Any sign it was about being Israeli?

Daniel

No. The women reported no further hostility related to their nationality.

Maya

A health warning next.

Daniel

Israel's Ministry of Health has banned a hair straightening product called Revival Miracle, after a woman was hospitalized following its use.

Maya

What's wrong with it?

Daniel

According to the ministry, it doesn't have the necessary permits, and it contains a prohibited ingredient, glyoxylic acid. The investigation is ongoing.

Maya

And the advice?

Daniel

Anyone who develops symptoms after using a product like it should seek medical help.

Maya

Finally, business. A big bet on retirement living.

Daniel

Aura Group, an Israeli real estate company led by Yaakov Attarachi, is buying a fifty-five percent controlling stake in Beit Bakfar, which runs senior living facilities.

Maya

For how much?

Daniel

One point seven billion shekels, roughly two hundred and fifty million dollars. That includes nine hundred and thirty-five million shekels for the Blustein family's shares, plus a tender offer to minority shareholders.

Maya

What does Aura get?

Daniel

Five senior living facilities, a company that's expanding, and a stronger position in Israel's residential market.

Maya

Before we go, the one thing to watch. Ten o'clock tonight, Israel time, when the polls close.

Daniel

And then the overnight count. Just remember the double envelopes are still to come.

Maya

So even a clear-looking night might not be the final word.

Daniel

Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Maya

See you tomorrow morning.