Final vote tally gives big victory to Netanyahu's Likud Party

UPDATE: After all the votes were counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party emerged from Tuesday’s election with a decisive victory. The win—30 of the parliament's 120 seats—stunned analysts who predicted a tight race. When polls closed, the election was too close to call.

Netanyahu is not expected to have any problem building a coalition government with his party’s nationalist, religious, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies.

“Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud,” Netanyahu told supporters at his election night headquarters, declaring victory even before final results were known. “I am proud of the people of Israel, who in the moment of truth knew how to distinguish between what is important and what is peripheral, and to insist on what is important.”

OUR EARLIER REPORT (5 p.m. EDT, March 17): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory in a race pronounced too close to call when polls closed.

Although exit polls conducted by Israeli television stations gave mixed results, Netanyahu’s Likud Party did not suffer the convincing defeat opponents hoped for. Pre-election polling suggested opposition leader Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union had enough support to win him Netanyahu’s job.

“This is a great victory. It’s almost a miracle,” Likud lawmaker Ofir Akunis told The Associated Press. “For months, everybody attacked the Likud. And today is a beautiful day for the Likud. It sends a message that the people of Israel will decide for themselves.”

But Likud did not win a majority of seats in Parliament, forcing Netanyahu to form a coalition government. Although his right-wing allies have more seats than their left-leaning opponents, they will have to woo one of their own to get enough support for a new government. Former Likud member Moshe Kahlon, who is a centrist and the likely swing vote, has not said whether he will support Netanyahu or Herzog for prime minister.

Analysts said the vote would be a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership. Kahlon and other opponents focused on the economy and cost of living, while Netanyahu reiterated the country’s need for a strong defense in the face of regional aggression.

While Netanyahu may retain his job, his coalition partners may make it difficult for him to get much done.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.