Israel National News (Link) (February 12, 2009)
The final results were announced Thursday evening, Feb. 12, following the counting of the soldiers' and foreign diplomats' votes.
Percentage of votes counted: 100%
Real Results updated to: 8:01 p.m. Feb. 12
| Nationalist/Religious Bloc | Knesset Seats |
| Likud | 27 |
| Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Is Our Home) | 15 |
| Ichud Leumi (National Union) | 4 |
| Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) | 3 |
| Shas | 11 |
| United Torah Judaism | 5 |
|
Total for Nationalist/Religious Bloc |
65 |
|
Leftwing Bloc |
|
| Kadima | 28 |
| Labor | 13 |
| Meretz | 3 |
| Ra'am Ta'al (Arab party) | 4 |
| Balad (Arab party) | 3 |
| Hadash (Arab/Jewish party) | 4 |
|
Total for Left-wing Bloc |
55 |
The soldiers' votes, in contrast to the last election in 2003, did not change the number of Knesset seats each party received although it narrowed the gap between Kadima and Likud to less than 30,000 votes, or three-quarters of a percent.
The remaining task for determining the final number of Knesset seats for each party is to complete the complicated calculation of vote sharing agreements and to examine appeals.
Vote sharing agreements in this year's elections were made between:
Labor and Meretz;
Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu;
Shas and United Torah Judaism;
Ichud Leumi (National Union) and Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home);
Ra'am-Taal and Hadash.;
Kadima and Hayerukim (Green)
Kadima's agreement was voided because the Green party did not receive the minimum number of votes to enter the Knesset.
The formula for calculating the vote sharing begins with reaching a base number by dividing by 120 the amount of all valid votes for parties that won two percent or more of the vote. The number 120 represents the total Knesset seats. Each party that receives more then two percent of valid votes is awarded seats in the Knesset according to the base number.
For example, If the number of votes per seat is 20,000, every party's number of mandates is determined by its total votes being divided by 20,000, the result being that not all 120 seats are allocated unless every party were to have no extra votes, a virtual impossibility statistically.
If a party received 61,000 votes, it has three mandates and an "extra" 1,000 votes. If the party made an agreement with another party, the two factions share the extra votes.
The next calculation is to add the two parties' total votes and divide them by their combined number of mandates plus one. The result is a new number by which further calculations determine how the remaining mandates will be distributed. The vote sharing agreement does not guarantee that there will be any changes from the initial results.
The final official results will be certified next Tuesday, allowing President Shimon Peres to begin the process of determining which party will try to form a new government coalition.
Pray for Netanyahu to win, Israel need him.He is the one with a backbone.It runs in the family.
Posted by: Tim Casey | February 19, 2009 at 06:55 AM