Israel election result shows no overall majority as vote count complete

JERUSALEM, Israel 

Vote counting is complete in Israel’s elections with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition winning a majority in parliament, Israeli media have said.

As the provisional results were being published on Thursday, opposition politicians met to explore options for a coalition.

With more than 99 percent of Tuesday’s ballots tallied, Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported. The Arab list parties, meanwhile, held a combined 19 seats, it added.

Both Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition parties fell short of securing the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.

The final results of the Knesset elections will be certified and announced by Wednesday. Until that date, the results are subject to change.

Tuesday’s elections – the first since the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel and the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza – were widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s premiership.

Israel election 2026 results

No clear winner has emerged from Israel’s election, with 99 percent of ballots counted and both major political blocs falling short of the 61 seats needed to form a government.

Netanyahu bloc (53*)    Eisenkot bloc (48*)    Palestinian citizens of Israel (19*)  

Candidate	Benjamin Netanyahu
Party	Likud
Votes	1,159,791
Percentage	20.52% 20.52% 20.52%
Estimated seats	27
Candidate	Gadi Eisenkot
Party	Yashar
Votes	907,566
Percentage	16.05% 16.05% 16.05%
Estimated seats	21
Candidate	Naftali Bennett
Party	Together
Votes	527,064
Percentage	9.32% 9.32% 9.32%
Estimated seats	12
Candidate	Yousef Jabareen
Party	The Joint List
Votes	498,763
Percentage	8.82% 8.82% 8.82%
Estimated seats	11
Candidate	Yair Golan
Party	Democrats
Votes	364,053
Percentage	6.44% 6.44% 6.44%
Estimated seats	8
Candidate	Avigdor Liberman
Party	Yisrael Beiteinu
Votes	335,185
Percentage	5.93% 5.93% 5.93%
Estimated seats	7
Candidate	Mansour Abbas
Party	Ra'am
Votes	335,391
Percentage	5.93% 5.93% 5.93%
Estimated seats	8
Candidate	Itamar Ben-Gvir
Party	Otzma Yehudit
Votes	323,800
Percentage	5.73% 5.73% 5.73%
Estimated seats	7
Candidate	Yaakov Asher
Party	United Torah Judaism
Votes	311,473
Percentage	5.51% 5.51% 5.51%
Estimated seats	7
Candidate	Aryeh Deri
Party	Shas
Votes	297,889
Percentage	5.27% 5.27% 5.27%
Estimated seats	6
Candidate	Bezalel Smotrich
Party	Religious Zionism
Votes	286,934
Percentage	5.08% 5.08% 5.08%
Estimated seats	6
Candidate	Others
Party
Votes	305,269
Percentage	5.42% 5.42% 5.42%
Estimated seats	0

Votes counted: 5,678,811 | Eligible voters: 7,331,981 | Voter turnout: 77.7% 

Final results will be published by November 4. Until then, they are subject to change.

*Estimated seats

Source: Israel’s Central Elections Committee | October 29, 2026 | 17:00GMT

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 30/10/2026

 

Putin hails 'natural allies' at Russia-Africa summit in Moscow

MOSCOW, Russia 

A summit with nearly two dozen African leaders opened in Moscow Wednesday, with the Kremlin describing their countries as "natural allies" against the West.

The two-day Russia-Africa summit, the third since 2019, comes as Moscow grapples with heavy Western sanctions over its Ukraine offensive and as it provides security assistance to several African governments.

Moscow has courted ties with Africa since the Soviet era, and has long looked to the continent as a counterweight to what it sees as Western domination over international affairs.

"We are natural allies in building a multipolar world order," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said of the summit, referring to a system where political power is no longer concentrated in the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile said that the multipolar world was quickly becoming a reality, in an "irreversible" trend.

"The era when the fate of entire continents was determined by a narrow bloc of states is irrevocably gone," he said as he opened a Russia-Africa economic forum, which gathered thousands of Russian and African business leaders in Moscow hours before the high-level summit began.

He told the delegations from 48 African countries, including 22 represented by their leaders, that Russia was "prepared to further expand the geographical reach of our agricultural product shipments."

The pledge came as attacks in the Black Sea linked to the conflict in Ukraine continue to disrupt exports of grain from both Russia and Ukraine.

Putin also announced that Moscow planned to "localise" the production of "effective Russian medicines and vaccines" on the African continent, and noted that the number of African students in Russia had swelled 50 percent since 2020.

The Russian president also stressed that his country was "open to sharing our modern competencies and high-tech digital know-how with our African friends."

Putin's criticism of what he calls Western "neocolonialism" in Africa has resonated on the continent.

That is especially true in the Sahel, where Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have turned their backs on their former colonial ruler France in favour of closer ties with Moscow.

Among the around 20 bilateral meetings Putin was scheduled to have with African leaders in Moscow this week was one with his Malian counterpart Assimi Goita, whose government is using Russian paramilitaries to battle a jihadist offensive.

Putin was also due to meet with Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, who is attending the summit as tensions between his country and neighbouring Rwanda continue to flare.

The Rwandan-backed M23 movement has seized swathes of the eastern DRC since taking up arms again in 2021, and, despite a US-brokered truce last December, fighting has continued.

Rwanda was to be represented at the Moscow summit by Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva.

The summit was expected to end Thursday with a final declaration on deepening cooperation between Russia and African nations, alongside a separate statement on cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.

In all, 33 documents will be signed at the summit, focused in particular on economic cooperation, according to the Kremlin.

Russia will also seek to strengthen its diplomatic presence on the continent, where it aims soon to open a 49th embassy, in Liberia, the Kremlin said.

Russia's relations with African nations have meanwhile been clouded in recent years by numerous reports of Africans being forcibly conscripted by Moscow to fight on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Several African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, have publicly voiced alarm at the fate of their citizens recruited by Moscow.

In an open letter to the African heads of state and other officials attending the Moscow summit, the Amnesty International rights group voiced "deep concern regarding Russia's forced and deceptive recruitment" of African nations.

The letter, published Tuesday, urged the officials to demand that Russia "cease any ongoing and future recruitment of people from Africa and other foreign nationals into its military forces."

US imposes sanctions on Rwandan defence ministry over links to Congo rebels

WASHINGTON, United States 

The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s defence ministry accusing it of helping to sustain the M23 rebel group fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Washington is hoping to increase pressure on Kigali to withdraw troops from its neighbour and end its alleged support for the group and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance.

It has also ⁠imposed sanctions on Zigama Credit and Savings Society, which it said plays a key role in facilitating Rwanda's support for the ​rebels.

The US Treasury Department said the Rwandan ministry of defence directed its army to deploy thousands of troops across eastern Congo's North and South Kivu provinces.

It said Rwandan troops conducted operations alongside the rebels and provided the armed group with ​military equipment, training, and other support.

The United Nations has said that the M23 is backed by Rwanda, an accusation Kigali has repeatedly denied.

Kinshasa’s ministry of foreign affairs has welcomed the sanctions.

They come months after the leaders of Rwanda and the DRC signed a US-brokered peace agreement in Washington aimed at ending the conflict.

So far, this has brought little change on the ground where fighting continues.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the action is intended to hold Kigali accountable for commitments under the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity.

The M23 re-emerged as a major forced in the eastern Congo in 2021, taking control of large swathes of the region and capturing the key cities of Goma and Bukavu in early 2025.

Demands for post-poll justice as Tanzania accused of weaponising counterterrorism laws

LONDON, England 

On the first anniversary of Tanzania’s October 29, 2025 general election crackdown, Amnesty International aaccused Tanzania government of weaponizing counterterrorism laws to silence critics, suppress free expression, and instill fear.

A government-led Commission of Inquiry (whose report was handed over in April 2026 but kept from public release) acknowledged at least 518 deaths from unnatural causes—mostly gunshot wounds—along with over 2,200 injuries and 245 missing persons. 

The main opposition party CHADEMA estimates the death toll is much higher, between 1,000 and 2,000 people. President Suluhu has blamed the unrest on foreign plots to overthrow her government.

The global human rights movement that investigates, campaigns and pushes for laws to protect people when their fundamental freedoms are violated reported that not a single security or government official has been criminally investigated, prosecuted, or punished for the excessive use of force during the protests.

Between September 3 and September 17, 2026, Amnesty International documented arbitrary arrests and identified charge sheets showing at least 64 people charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Affected individuals include CHADEMA members, university students, and academics (such as a University of Dodoma lecturer arrested over Saba Saba Day protests).

Human rights groups point to regular bans on political rallies, targeted social media restrictions, and media sanctions as evidence of a shrinking civic space.

Families affected by the violence and injured survivors (such as Meshack Sane, who was shot in the leg) have appealed to the BBC and authorities for public answers, accountability, and financial assistance with overwhelming hospital bills. 

Commemorating the day, the U.S. Embassy to Tanzania, William Tranchman said the incident will not be swept under the rug.

"The US Embassy community joined me to honor the memory of all those who lost their lives in the violence surrounding Tanzania’s October 2025 general elections. We remember them, and the families who still grieve and seek answers. As I said to the U.S. Senate during my confirmation hearing, this will not be swept under the rug." He insisted.