Gantz: We’ll respect the voters’ decision, Likud doesn’t have majority

Blue and White chief Benny Gantz comments for the first time on Tuesday after incomplete results show his party coming in second place to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud.

“The election results are slowly becoming clear — Netanyahu does not have a majority. Wait for the final results. We will consider our path and we will respect the decision made by the voters,” he tells reporters outside his home in the central town of Rosh Ha’ayin.

With some 90 percent percent of ballots tallied, Likud holds 29.35% of the votes, equal to around 36 Knesset seats, which could represent the party’s strongest ever showing as Israelis look to end a deadlock that has left the country without a fully functioning government for over a year.

Blue and White party trails with 26.34% of the votes, representing some 32 seats, which would be the relatively new faction’s worst showing in three tries.