Herzog says Eisenkot got 67 nods as PM, but he will only hand over mandate on Sunday

President Isaac Herzog says he will hold further talks with party leaders to determine who is able to form a government, despite Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot receiving the majority of recommendations for premiership.

At the conclusion of consultations with all the Knesset factions, Herzog says representatives of factions totaling 67 lawmakers recommended that Eisenkot be tasked with forming the government, while factions totaling 46 lawmakers recommended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The results of the consultations appear clear,” Herzog says. “But the authority granted to me by law is to determine who has the ability to form a government, and that is not entirely clear in light of the mutual vetoes between the blocs and within the blocs themselves.”

Herzog says he will try to clarify the situation “directly and quickly” in personal conversations with some party leaders, and intends to assign the mandate to form a government on Sunday.

“In these conversations, I intend to leave no stone unturned in an effort to encourage the parties to reach out to one another and build a stable and good government for the people of Israel,” he says.