Exit Polls Project Golan's Democrats Winning Nine to 10 Knesset Seats in Israel Election

Exit polls from Israel's election on 2026-10-27 project that the Democrats, led by former deputy IDF chief of staff Yair Golan, will win between nine and 10 seats in the 120-member Knesset. The party held 4 seats in the outgoing parliament.

The result could have a significant effect on coalition negotiations and on the next government's ability to build a parliamentary majority. Exit polls are only preliminary projections, however, and the final distribution of seats will depend on the official vote count and the allocation of Knesset mandates.

The projection is in line with expectations going into election night. Final pre-election surveys had put the party at between eight and ten seats in the 26th Knesset. Closing polls broadcast by Channel 12 and the Kan public broadcaster, along with surveys by Maariv and The Jerusalem Post, each gave Golan's slate 10 seats.

Golan campaigned on a platform of "fundamental change." A central theme was the defense of Israeli democracy, as the party describes it. He promised legislation barring politicians under criminal indictment from serving as prime minister or cabinet ministers, and pledged full support for the judiciary and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara against government efforts to undermine them.

On domestic issues, the party called for separating religion and state, including the introduction of civil marriage and protection of the right of businesses to open on Shabbat. It also criticized National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over his handling of the rising crime wave in Arab communities, and voiced firm opposition to military draft exemptions for Haredi men.

On security and diplomacy, Golan rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach of repeated military rounds. He argued instead for a broader regional accord that would divide the land and create a demilitarized Palestinian state. The platform opposes annexation of the West Bank, calls for ending state funding for illegal outposts, and pledges to strip Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of his civil administration powers in the West Bank, returning authority to the IDF.

Golan has ruled out joining any coalition headed by Netanyahu or sitting with Smotrich, Ben-Gvir or the ultra-Orthodox parties. Unlike other opposition leaders, he has openly endorsed sitting with Arab parties such as Ra'am in a future governing coalition, calling their participation a natural and necessary part of Israeli democracy.

The Democrats were formed in July 2024 through a merger of the Labor Party and Meretz. The goal was to create a unified liberal-democratic Zionist framework that would consolidate the Israeli left and avoid a repeat of the 2022 election, when split left-wing votes left Meretz under the 3.25% electoral threshold. The party's primary slate, selected in July, placed incumbent lawmakers Naama Lazimi, Gilad Kariv and Efrat Rayten behind Golan.