Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies appear on track to win the most seats in Israel's parliament after an election this week, though neither he nor his main competitor, Gadi Eisenkot, has a clear path to a majority.

Votes are now being tallied, followed by potentially long negotiations as parties try to assemble a governing coalition. If those talks fail, Israel could head to another round of elections.

WHEN WILL WE KNOW IF ANYONE WON?

Israel's Central Election Committee was tallying votes on Wednesday, and it will likely take until Thursday before definitive results of the election are known.

The committee will also tally hundreds of thousands of ballots by Israeli soldiers, as well as diplomats, who voted from outside the country.

The final vote tally is expected by October 30 and official election results are formally published a week after the election, on November 4.

WHY IS IT SO COMPLICATED?

The Knesset seats are allocated by proportional representation to national party lists, with parties needing to pass a threshold of 3.25% of the national vote to secure seats.

About a dozen parties are widely thought to have a chance of crossing the threshold, so the final tally and seat allocation will take time.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE RESULTS ARE PUBLISHED?

After the final tally is in, President Isaac Herzog will consult party leaders on whom they want as prime minister and then tap the candidate he believes has the best chance of forming a government.

The nominee is not necessarily the one whose party holds the most seats; under the law, the president, whose position is otherwise largely ceremonial, is afforded broad discretion, with no guidelines on how to make the choice.

That nominee has up to 42 days to form a government. No single party in Israel has ever won an outright majority, so governments are formed by a coalition ​of parties, and negotiations on forming a government often take weeks. Every Knesset seat counts and small parties can have a big impact by becoming kingmakers.

If the nominee fails, others can get a chance to try. If no government emerges, another election is called, with the present cabinet staying on as a caretaker government.

WON'T HERZOG BE UNDER HUGE POLITICAL PRESSURE?

Just ahead of Tuesday's pivotal vote, Herzog acknowledged there would be tremendous pressure, but vowed not to let outside influence, notably from Donald Trump, sway his decision.

"I don't think the president of the United States or anybody else can intervene in my discretion," he told US outlet MS Now.

"It's Israel's democracy and Israel's constitution, and that's what counts for me."

Herzog also told MS Now he would do everything he could to avoid a fresh election – a possibility if neither camp can cobble together a coalition – including backing a unity government between Netanyahu and Eisenkot.

WHAT IS HERZOG'S BACKGROUND?

Herzog's Irish-born father, Chaim Herzog, served as head of Israel's military intelligence, then went on to become its ambassador to the United Nations and finally its sixth president, from 1983 to 1993.

Herzog's grandfather and namesake – Rabbi Yitzhak (Isaac) HaLevi Herzog – was the first chief rabbi for Israel's Ashkenazis, the branch of Judaism whose roots are in eastern Europe.

Herzog was elected to Israel's parliament in 2003 and held portfolios including housing, tourism and welfare. In 2015, as leader of Israel's center-left Labour party, Herzog vied to oust Netanyahu as prime minister, presenting himself as a subdued, even-keeled alternative to the bombastic "Bibi".

At the helm of the Labour party, Herzog worked to steer its focus back to peace with the Palestinians. Modest, diplomatic and with a strong political pedigree, 66-year-old Herzog was sworn in as Israel's president in 2021 after being elected by lawmakers in a landslide.

Yair Lapid, now a member of Eisenkot's bloc, praised Herzog at the time as "a worthy and wonderful man who is always focused on the good of the country and the Jewish people".