El partido del primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, fue el más votado en las elecciones del martes: obtuvo 27 escaños frente a los 21 de Yashar! del líder opositor de centroderecha Gadi Eisenkot, tras el escrutinio del 100 % de los votos.

Esto da a la coalición pro-Netanyahu un total de 53 escaños frente a los 48 del bloque opositor y 19 de las dos listas árabes, bisagra necesaria para alcanzar la mayoría de 61 escaños en el Parlamento.

La Comisión Electoral Central estima que quedan entre 430.000 y 480.000 papeletas de “doble sobre” pendientes de recuento, procedentes principalmente de soldados, así como de enfermos, diplomáticos y otros electores que votaron fuera de su centro asignado.

Según las estimaciones de los medios israelíes basadas en los datos de la Comisión, con 5.671.534 votos válidos contabilizados, el bloque de Netanyahu se completa con los ultraortodoxos de Judaísmo Unido de la Torá (7 escaños) y Shas (6), y con los ultranacionalistas Poder Judío, de Itamar Ben Gvir (7), y Sionismo Religioso, de Betsalel Smotrich (6).

En el bloque opositor, a los 21 escaños de Yashar! se suman los 12 de Juntos, la formación de los ex primeros ministros Naftali Bénet y Yair Lapid; los 8 de Los Demócratas, de Yair Golan, y los 7 de Israel Beitenu, de Avigdor Líberman.

Entre los partidos árabes, que no forman parte de ninguno de los dos bloques, la izquierdista Lista Conjunta obtendría 11 escaños y la islamista Raam, de Mansur Abás, 8, dos más de los que le atribuían los recuentos parciales del miércoles.

A Netanyahu le faltan así ocho escaños para la mayoría absoluta, y al bloque de Eisenkot, trece, por lo que ninguno de los dos podría gobernar sin el apoyo de los partidos árabes o de diputados del bloque contrario, a menos que el recuento de los votos de “doble sobre” altere el reparto.

Netanyahu lanza una ofensiva contra los partidos árabes

En tanto, Netanyahu y sus aliados redoblaron sus ataques contra los partidos árabes israelíes que podrían ayudar a la oposición a lograr una mayoría tras las legislativas. Los acusó de haber recibido fondos de Qatar.

Uno de los principales candidatos árabes rechazó esas acusaciones, así como Doha.

Las dos listas árabes, Raam y la Lista Unificada, obtuvieron el resultado más alto de su historia y podrían ser claves para la formación del nuevo Gobierno.

Las acusaciones contra los partidos árabes incrementan la incertidumbre sobre el resultado de las elecciones. El líder opositor Eisenkot acusó a Netanyahu de haberse “embarcado en una campaña coordinada y organizada para deslegitimar los resultados” y retrasar la toma de funciones del próximo Parlamento.

También amenazan con sumir a Israel en una crisis política en un momento en el que la región está sacudida por un conflicto regional y Netanyahu sopesa una campaña militar contra Irán.

El presidente israelí, Isaac Herzog, pidió que se investiguen los “elementos sospechosos” pero advirtió que no se debería estigmatizar a toda la comunidad árabe israelí, que votó masivamente para echar del poder al gobierno más conservador de la historia del país.

Netanyahu

President Donald Trump’ s push to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar amid allegations of immigration fraud could trigger a constitutional fight, with legal experts telling Digital that a landmark Supreme Court case involving another entrenched Democrat may not stand in Republicans’ way.

Federal investigators are examining whether the Minneapolis Democrat improperly obtained U.S. citizenship through allegedly fraudulent immigration paperwork involving her late father. Omar has denied wrongdoing, and no finding that she lacks U.S. citizenship has been established.

Experts said Omar may not have the protections established in the landmark case involving House chairman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., D-N.Y., in which the Supreme Court blocked an effort to exclude him from Congress.

Powell faced allegations of misusing congressional funds and improperly paying his wife from the congressional payroll. Despite his reelection, the House voted to exclude him in 1967, but the Supreme Court later ruled that Congress could not refuse to seat a duly elected member who satisfied the Constitution’s qualifications.

ILHAN OMAR SHOULD BE JAILED, DEPORTED IF CITIZENSHIP FRAUD PROVEN, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS

The first potential route for Republicans would be to challenge whether Omar meets the Constitution’s citizenship requirement. Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo and constitutional scholar Cully Stimson told Digital that the Powell ruling does not prevent Congress from enforcing constitutional qualifications.

«Powell essentially means that Congress cannot add on to the minimum qualifications set out in the Constitution,» Yoo said. «[S]ince citizenship is set out in the text of the Constitution as a qualification, it clearly can be enforced by Congress. Powell in-fact would support a congressional decision to oust Congresswoman Omar if she was in fact not a citizen.»

Stimson argued that citizenship itself is not a legal gray area.

«The Powell v. McCormack decision did not involve expulsion. It actually was to judge qualifications. That’s a subtle but important difference,» he said.

Stimson envisioned a January showdown if federal authorities presented evidence challenging Omar’s citizenship before the new Congress convenes and House Republicans attempted to prevent her from being seated. Such a move would likely face a legal challenge from Omar, he said, raising questions about whether Congress could act before her citizenship status was resolved.

The Constitution requires House members to be at least 25 years old, have been U.S. citizens for seven years and inhabit the states they represent when elected. Stimson argued that even if alleged immigration irregularities originated with Omar’s father, Nur Omar Mohamed, the central question would be whether she legally acquired citizenship, regardless of whether she knowingly participated in wrongdoing.

«It’s like you’re either pregnant or you’re not,» he said. «You’re either wet or dry — You’re a citizen or you are not a citizen.»

In multiple public comments, Trump has urged Omar’s resignation or expulsion, specifically citing reports that she used a pseudonym when she was sworn into office and that she «married her brother.»

«Let’s get her the Hell out of there,» he said Monday in Alcorn County, Mississippi.

Digital reached out to Omar for comment.

COULD TRUMP REVOKE ILHAN OMAR’S CITIZENSHIP FOR ALLEGED BROTHER MARRIAGE? EX FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BREAKS IT DOWN

A second route would involve seating Omar and then pursuing expulsion for misconduct, a separate constitutional power requiring a two-thirds House vote. Unlike exclusion for failing to meet constitutional qualifications, expulsion is a disciplinary action that was not at issue in the Supreme Court’s Powell ruling.

At least one House Republican has already threatened to pursue that option.

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said Friday that if Omar is found to not be a citizen, «I absolutely will demand expulsion immediately.»

Omar faces a separate investigation into her financial disclosures, which U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro previously confirmed to Fox News. The inquiry follows scrutiny of businesses tied to her current husband, Timothy Mynett, whose reported valuations reached as high as $30 million before Omar amended the filings, citing accounting errors. No financial wrongdoing has yet been established.

Stimson pointed to the 2023 expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., as an example of the House exercising its disciplinary authority over misconduct that began before a member took office.

Former House counsel Michael Stern wrote in an examination of the Constitution’s expulsion clause that while Santos’ alleged misconduct largely preceded his term, House investigators found that his misrepresentations continued while he was in office.

«Thus, acts committed before a member’s first election may constitute disorderly behavior subject to congressional discipline, at least if the misconduct relates to the election and particularly if it involves deceiving the electorate,» Stern wrote.

Stimson said Omar’s case is largely «uncharted waters,» but the Santos case could still be instructive.

«I think the argument would be, well, her misrepresentations continued during the time in Congress, they would pull a Santos and use the same logic that they used,» he said.

Any federal determination challenging Omar’s citizenship could trigger a legal battle over whether she meets the constitutional requirements for office and what recourse she would have to contest such a finding, Stimson said.

«The hard part for her is ‘how do you prove a negative’,» Stimson said, adding that placing blame on her father wouldn’t stand up in court because people cannot legally benefit from others’ criminal acts.

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«It’s a harsh world, but it’s a binary situation.»

A challenge to Omar’s citizenship could also produce a separate fight over the evidence and legal procedures required to establish whether she meets the Constitution’s qualifications.

Pedro Rodriguez-Aparicio contributed to this report.

ilhan omar, politics, congress, law, federal courts, precedents

While prominent Democrats have spent years warning about threats to democracy, dozens of lawmakers and governors who endorsed Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola have declined to respond to Digital’s questions about a reported effort to confuse voters and potentially cost Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan his seat.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that aides to Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola helped recruit a man named Dan Sullivan to run in an alleged effort to draw votes from Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan – though Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement.

Digital reached out to 42 Democratic lawmakers and governors who endorsed Peltola to ask whether they would denounce the alleged effort to mislead Alaska voters.

As of publication, not a single one has responded.

MARY PELTOLA’S CAMPAIGN, DEMS BACKED COVERT SCHEME TO FIELD SPOILER CANDIDATES IN ALASKA SENATE RACE: REPORT

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, for instance, stated that «voter suppression is poisonous, it is toxic to our democracy,» in 2022. His colleague, Sen. Chris Murphy, meanwhile, argued in April 2025 that «those of us who believe that the threat to democracy is urgent» need to «act like it.»

And Sen. Cory Booker said in December 2016 that «protecting American democracy is a calling far higher than party politics.»

‘DECOY DAN’ SULLIVAN CASE LEADS TOP SENATOR TO BREAK FOUR-YEAR X SILENCE: ‘PATTERN OF LIES’

Despite their outspoken defenses of democracy and insistence that protecting it should transcend party politics, none of these lawmakers responded to Digital’s questions about the alleged effort to mislead Alaska voters.

Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has made a name for himself by publicly breaking with his party on some issues, has also remained mum on the controversy.

Peltola has asserted that her campaign «has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.» The Times, for its investigation, relied on text messages it obtained as well as interviews with former campaign staffers.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Alaska on Oct. 22 seeking to delay certification of the state’s Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and votes cast for the other Sullivan could have changed the outcome, pending an investigation into whether voter confusion played a role in the result.

ALASKA’S GOVERNOR ORDERS INVESTIGATION AFTER NYT REPORT ON ALLEGED DEM-LINKED SENATE ELECTION SCHEME

Legal experts from across the political spectrum who previously spoke to Digital said that the case faces significant challenges, particularly as it relates to trying to infer voter intent from anonymous ballots and overcoming the sovereignty of states over their elections.

Among the other Democratic Senators reached by Digital were Sens. Adam Schiff, Alex Padilla, Maggie Hassan, Chuck Schumer, Catherine Cortez Masto, Angela Alsobrooks, Andy Kim, Brian Schatz, Ed Markey, Elissa Slotkin, John Hickenlooper, Jon Ossoff, Kirsten Gillibrand, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Mark Kelly, Michael Bennet, Ruben Gallego, Sheldon Whitehouse and Tammy Duckworth.

The U.S. House members reached by Digital included Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chris Pappas, Brittany Pettersen, Eric Sorensen, Mike Levin, Hillary Scholten, Jared Huffman, Josh Harder, Pramila Jayapal, Sarah McBride, George Whitesides, Jonathan Nez and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who does not currently hold office but is running to retake his Senate seat, and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, were also asked for their reactions on the reporting.

Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gavin Newsom of California, as well as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper – who is in the midst of a Senate campaign – were also reached for comment. 

Peltola’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

At least one Democrat has publicly criticized the alleged tactic. Iowa Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand told on Sunday that «both parties are doing it and neither party should be doing it,» calling such efforts «manipulating the political system.»

politics, voting, midterm elections, cory booker, john fetterman, alaska