The opposition bloc led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot edged ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition in Israel’s general election, but neither camp came close to the 61 seats needed to govern, exit polls showed Tuesday night.

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With a historic turnout of close to 75%, Israelis turned out in the first election held after the start of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023.

The first projections from Israel’s election signal a shift in the balance of power. The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot prevailed by a narrow margin over PM Netanyahu’s coalition in Israel’s first election since the October 2023 attacks, according to polls circulated after the ballot box was closed.

RELATED: Trump Backs Netanyahu’s Reelection for Tuesday Elections

Data from the Central Election Commission and projections from local TV channels 11, 12, and 13 agree that none of the dominant blocs has the 61 seats required to form a government in the 120-seat parliament.

The three main exit polls, published after voting closed at 10 P.M. local time, placed Eisenkot’s bloc at 52 to 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, against 50 for Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance.

The result opens a period of uncertain negotiations over who will form the next government, with neither side having reached the required majority in parliament (Knesset).

BREAKING: Early exit poll results are showing Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition coalition both falling short of the seats needed for a majority.

🔴 LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/6gTzKogVEg pic.twitter.com/HrNY9tsJxL

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 27, 2026

Parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won more seats than his coalition in Tuesday’s parliamentary election, though Likud Party remained the most-voted party, and neither bloc reached the 61 seats needed to govern in the 120-seat Knesset.

Neither candidate can yet claim a clear path to 61. Netanyahu can argue that he heads the largest single party, while Eisenkot can point to the larger bloc.

That calculation gives the Arab-led lists unusual weight in the coming negotiations. For years the established Jewish parties have treated these alliances as off-limits partners. The projections may now force a reconsideration, because neither side appears able to reach a majority without them.

BREAKING: Israeli elections have ended and the exit polls are in. All three Israeli channels have Netanyahu's bloc at 50. Eisenkot's bloc is at 52 or 53. The Arab parties are at 17 or 18, the most seats they have ever won.

Likud finished first with 24 or 25. Yashar is second… pic.twitter.com/26FRBxyRco

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 27, 2026

The two Israeli Arab parties that emerged as potential arbiters of the contest won between 17 and 18 seats according to the polls in the ballot box, a figure higher than expected. Both said that they would support Eisenkot to some extent, having mobilized their voters to help displace Netanyahu, whom they consider an “existential threat” in the event of a new term.

Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have so far ruled out any formal alliance with Arab parties. However, these could allow Eisenkot to form a minority government by backing him from outside the coalition, or even abstaining in the Knesset vote to install the next government.

Coalition Talks Ahead

As the count continues, the next move belongs to the Israeli President, who must decide whom to invite first to try to assemble a coalition.

Any path to a majority now appears to run through the Arab parties. That reality will test whether the traditional Jewish bloc is willing to negotiate across a line it has long treated as closed.

The final tally will determine whether Eisenkot can turn his central role into a governing coalition, or whether Netanyahu finds another route to remain in power.

If, after all the negotiations, no one manages to form a majority, a new election would be called on March and the process would repeat. During that period, Netanyahu’s government would remain in a caretaker role. Public services would not be affected, but the government would lack the authority to push through major policy changes.

Israel’s most recent national election, held in November 2022, was the fifth in three and a half years, and even a new round might not resolve the country’s political deadlock. That election, returned Likud party to power with a 64-seat coalition.

The most likely scenario now is a prolonged negotiation or even new elections in the coming months. Until a government forms, Netanyahu’s administration would remain in office as a caretaker, unable to advance major policy changes.

The narrow margin leaves the next coalition in doubt. With neither side reaching 61 seats, both leaders will likely push to assemble a governing majority, a process that has repeatedly convulsed Israeli politics in recent years.

The Central Election Committee began counting ballots after polling stations closed and will release partial results overnight. Official tallies often diverge from exit poll projections, leaving the final composition of the Knesset uncertain for days.

Peru’s human rights prosecutors closed the criminal case over the forced sterilizations of thousands of women during Alberto Fujimori’s government, extinguishing charges against 52 former officials despite acknowledging that the mass surgeries amounted to crimes against humanity.

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The Fourth Supra-National Criminal Prosecutor’s Office specialized in Human Rights issued Fiscal Provision No. 25 on October 22. The ruling, which runs more than six thousand pages, formally declared the case time-barred and ordered the file closed.

In its decision, the Public Ministry recognized evidence of crimes against humanity and harm suffered by more than 4,000 victims of forced sterilization. Even so, criminal liability was declared extinguished for 52 people, a decision that protects the former officials who designed and implemented the program.

RELATED: Inter-American Court Condemns Peru Over Forced Sterilization

The case was closed under Law 32107, approved in 2024 with the backing of lawmakers allied to former President Alberto Fujimori. The statute imposes strict time limits on the prosecution of crimes against humanity, setting aside the protection those abuses have long held under international treaties.

Under international law, crimes against humanity are not subject to statutes of limitation. Law 32107 introduced a domestic exception to that principle, and its application extinguished the proceedings for all 52 defendants at once.

🚨 La Fiscalía archivó la investigación contra 52 personas por las #EsterilizacionesForzadas durante el gobierno de Alberto Fujimori, entre ellas Alejandro Aguinaga, exministro de Salud y actual senador. Lo más grave: reconoce indicios de crímenes de lesa humanidad, pero declara… pic.twitter.com/dSaeConv1P

— saludconlupa.com (@saludconlupa) October 26, 2026

Text reads: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office closed the investigation against 52 people for the forced esterilizations during the government of Alberto Fujimori, including Alejandro Aguinaga, former Minister of Health and current senator. Most serious: it recognizes indications of crimes against humanity, but prescribes the crimes by applying a law driven by fujimorismo. Thousands of women are still waiting for justice.”

The law’s application halted the criminal proceedings overnight and favored senior officials who held ministerial posts during the 1990s. Among them is Alejandro Aguinaga Recuenco, who served as Health Minister under Alberto Fujimori’s administration and now holds a Senate seat for the Fuerza Popular party.

The resolution shielding Aguinaga does not conceal the gravity of what occurred. Prosecutors acknowledged that the mass surgical interventions were performed without the free, prior and informed consent of the women affected.

Former Ministers Eduardo Yong Motta and Marino Costa Bauer were also released from the process. According to the document, the operations constituted a widespread and organized practice directed by the State against poor women in rural areas.

The investigation officially covered 4,172 people harmed by serious injuries. Five women lost their lives. Celia Edith Ramos Durand, María Mamérita Mestanza Chávez, Alejandra Aguirre Auccapiña, Reynalda Betalleluz Aguilar and María Genoveva Espínola Otiniano are named in the case file.

Victims Denied Justice

Between 1996 and 2000, more than 272,000 women and 22,000 men were subjected to family planning programs. Pressure, deception and quotas reported by the State to the presidency marked those campaigns, and forced sterilization became official reproductive health policy.

The case ranks among the most emblematic human rights violations of Peru’s 1990s. Its closure shuts down a judicial avenue that had remained open since the first complaints against the state-run birth control program emerged.

In December 2025, the Transitory Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court declined to apply Law 32107 in parallel proceedings to guarantee that investigations could continue. That ruling prompted disciplinary inquiries by the National Board of Justice against the magistrates involved.

The legal wrangling is not over. Parallel investigations have stayed alive under the high court’s stance, but the main case over the program’s architects and executors has now been closed for good.

Nearly three decades after the first allegations, the criminal path has been extinguished. The closure leaves no one criminally accountable for the officials who designed and executed the forced sterilizations. The file now ends under a norm that Peru’s own judiciary had questioned, while the fight over its reach continues.

El artista grancanario triunfa en la escena musical con su primer álbum, 'Sordo de un pie', que ya se posiciona en el número uno de España Leer

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro was ordered on Monday to hand over his passports within 24 hours and not to leave Brazil, a measure signed by Supreme Federal Court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes.

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Brazil’s Federal Police on Monday notified Senator Flávio Bolsonaro that he must surrender his passports and comply with a ban on leaving the country, measures ordered by Supreme Federal Court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes a day after Bolsonaro lost the presidential run-off to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

RELATED: Flávio Bolsonaro’s Party Recognizes Lula’s Victory in Brazil

Federal Police agents located the senator on Monday morning near his father’s home in Brasília, where former President Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest. Police told Bolsonaro on Monday morning that he had 24 hours to hand over his documents. The order also bars him from contacting lawyer Willer Tomaz, who is under investigation for alleged money laundering.

The ruling was signed on Sunday night, after the results of that day’s runoff were announced. Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right candidate, had lost the second round to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Flávio Bolsonaro diz que foi intimado pela PF a entregar seus passaportes por decisão de Alexandre de Moraes pic.twitter.com/Ngvh19Pnmk

— Sam Pancher (@SamPancher) October 26, 2026

Text reads: “Flávio Bolsonaro says that he was subpoenaed by the federal police to surrender his passports by decision of Alexandre de Moraes.”

Flávio Bolsonaro alleged that the justice’s decision responds to remarks made last Friday by his brother, former congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, who said in an interview that the senator should leave Brazil and challenge the vote count in the event of a defeat, according to the senator.

The Liberal Party’s senator denied any intention to flee, called the ruling an attempt at political intimidation and said he will hand over the documents while his lawyers file an appeal. “I never said that,” he wrote on his official channels, referring to leaving the country. “Is that a reason to take away my passport? Is this justice?,” he added.

Legal experts typically note that travel bans and passport seizures are precautionary measures and not findings of guilt.

Two Open Investigations

The order is tied to two cases pending at the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court. The first, led by Moraes and originating in proceedings in Rio Grande do Sul, examines alleged money laundering with Tomaz through betting companies and payment platforms. Last week the court ordered the freezing of up to 6 billion reais in assets linked to Tomaz, the suspension of his business activities and the lifting of his bank, tax and foreign-exchange secrecy.

Federal Police found that the senator appeared with a “master” user profile on an account of the firm Alcazar Holdings, and detected transactions of almost 130 million reais between March and May 2025 in accounts linked to the lawyer, the source says. Tomaz’s defense rejected the accusations and challenged the proportionality of the asset freezes.

The second case, assigned to justice André Mendonça, looks into alleged irregularities in raising private funds for the film “Dark Horse,” which focuses on Jair Bolsonaro’s political career. Investigators are analyzing audio and digital messages that link Flávio Bolsonaro to dealings with Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of Master Bank, and police have asked for a 90-day extension to finish financial examinations and process international cooperation requests. Bolsonaro has acknowledged seeking funds for the film in earlier reports in this conversation and denies offering favors.

After Lula’s victory, Bolsonaro will be without public office from February 1, 2027, the first time in more than 20 years that he will be outside state service as he did not run for Senate reelection.

The Supreme Federal Court will keep jurisdiction over the cases against him, under a doctrine the court set in March 2025, approved by seven votes to four and complemented in May 2026, under which alleged crimes committed in office stay with the Supreme Court even after officials leave their posts.

From 2027, the senator will be without parliamentary immunity or public office, a condition that increases his exposure in the ongoing proceedings. The defense’s appeal and the pending expert reports mark the immediate path of the case.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Brazil delivered a lesson against extremism and fanaticism. The Workers’ Party founder secured 51.74% of the vote, compared with 48.26% for Flávio Bolsonaro.

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Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez congratulated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Brazilian people following Sunday’s electoral victory.

The Workers’ Party candidate prevailed in the runoff election with 51.79% of the vote, defeating far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who received 48.21%.

RELATED: Latin American Leaders Celebrate Lula’s Fourth Term in Brazil

Rodríguez made the remarks in Caracas during the launch of the Comprehensive Women’s Medical Specialty Service at Dr. Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital. During the event, she argued that the election provided an important lesson for Latin America.

“I once again congratulate President Lula da Silva and the people of Brazil because Brazil has shown that neither extremism nor fanaticism of any kind can prevail,” she said.

The Venezuelan Acting President also emphasized what she described as the message Brazilian society had sent to the region. “It is a healthy society that has delivered a message to the world, and especially to the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean,” she stated.

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Una publicación compartida de teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)

Official figures confirmed the scale of Lula’s victory. The Brazilian President received 64,256,232 votes (51.79%), ten million more than he obtained in the first round on October 4, when he finished behind his opponent. Bolsonaro garnered 59,826,041 votes (48.21%).

The comeback was unprecedented. The Workers’ Party founder overturned his first-round deficit and secured another term at the head of Brazil’s government in a runoff election that drew intense attention across Latin America for weeks.

Following the announcement of the final results, political leaders and public figures from around the world welcomed Lula’s victory. The election was widely viewed as a contest over the future of democracy and national sovereignty in South America’s largest nation, and the outcome was celebrated by supporters as a rejection of extremist political currents.

Democracy Advances

Diosdado Cabello, secretary-general of Venezuela’s United Socialist Party (PSUV, in Spanish), also praised voter participation in Brazil. During his weekly press conference, the political leader said Brazilian citizens had demonstrated clarity and determination by using the democratic process to stop fascist political alternatives.

According to PSUV leaders, the vote reaffirmed the importance of democratic participation as a decisive tool in political processes across the region and showed that authoritarian alternatives lack support in Brazil.

His comments reflected a broader narrative promoted by the Venezuelan government, which framed Lula’s victory as a milestone for progressive political forces in the region. Officials suggested that the election could strengthen ties among left-leaning governments in Latin America and contribute to renewed efforts aimed at regional integration.

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Una publicación compartida de teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)

Cabello also reviewed domestic political developments in Venezuela. He described the results of the National Popular Consultation held on October 18 as highly positive and congratulated community organizations and grassroots movements for their participation in local development projects.

On economic and agricultural matters, the Venezuela’s United Socialist Party leader highlighted the launch of a seasonal food production plan coordinated with regional governments and the Ministry of Popular Power for Communes.

Regarding the political dialogue process, Cabello said the third phase of talks is advancing in line with commitments adopted by the participating parties. The discussions include a proposed judicial reform promoted by the government and efforts to recover state assets blocked abroad.

Caracas’ recognition of Lula’s victory joined similar messages issued by leaders from multiple continents. Lula’s victory was achieved with more than 64 million votes, representing a substantial increase compared with his first-round performance. The result reinforced his position as one of the most influential political figures in Latin America and signaled continued support for his political agenda among a majority of Brazilian voters.

For Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Lula’s re-election sends a clear message to the people of Latin America and the Caribbean, who, she argued, can draw an important lesson against fanaticism and political extremism from Brazil’s electoral outcome.

Brazil’s Liberal Party (PL), the political force that fielded far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, formally recognized the reelection of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday.

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Brazil’s political landscape entered a new phase on Monday as the Liberal Party (PL) formally recognized the results of the presidential election held last Sunday in the South American country.

The party which led Flávio Bolsonaro as a candidate in the balotaje that he lost against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, took off from its leader and recognized the opposition victory that secured the re-election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

RELATED: Flávio Bolsonaro Rejects Lula’s Victory, Seeks Annulment

The concession arrived in a letter published on the party’s social media accounts, signed by the party’s president Valdemar Costa Neto, who accepted the result proclaimed by the Superior Electoral Court while asking that “the questions raised” be “duly clarified.“

“Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round of the presidential elections,” the note read, but this Sunday “the result was different, in a scenario marked by strongly electoralist measures, with economic and social impact.”

The party maintained that an expansion of public spending and social benefits carried out by Lula’s government before the vote altered the fairness of the contest. It announced that it will demand explanations within the institutional framework, keeping its objections alive even as it accepted the official tally.

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Una publicación compartida de Valdemar Costa Neto (@valdemarcostaoficial)

The Liberal Party closed its statement by underscoring what it called a “historic” legislative advance. The conservative bloc secured 121 seats in the lower house, 29 senators and six governors, a result it framed as the base of its political strength going forward.

The decision carries particular weight because the Liberal Party has long been one of the principal political forces aligned with Brazil’s conservative and far right-wing electorate. The party served as a key platform for the Bolsonaro political movement and has frequently acted as one of the most influential opposition voices during Lula’s administration.

Lula secured the victory in Sunday’s runoff with 51,79% of the vote against 48,21% for the far-right candidate, a gap of more than four million ballots. The win amounted to an unprecedented comeback, since the October 4 first round had ended with the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro ahead by two percentage points.

Bolsonaro Refuses Defeat

Flávio Bolsonaro nonetheless declined to concede, instead he affirmed that he will “organize the opposition” to turn the lower house and the Senate into his “fortress against the barbarity” he anticipates “with four more years of Lula.”

He also pledged to press the courts to annul Lula’s candidacy over what he described as “all the abuses” committed during the campaign. Among them he cited the “industrial complex of fake news” assembled by the pro-government side and “abuses of political and economic power without precedent.”The party’s recognition therefore stands in tension with the posture of its own candidate. The institution accepted the official count while its standard-bearer promised to fight it, leaving Brazil’s opposition divided between concession and contestation as Lula prepares to begin another term in office. For the government, the letter clears the way for the new mandate to unfold without a wholesale challenge to its legitimacy.

Flávio Bolsonaro diz que foi intimado pela PF a entregar passaporte e que está proibido de deixar o país

Senador, derrotado no domingo para Lula, voltou a afirmar que pedirá a cassação da chapa vitoriosa

📲 Leia mais na #Folha: https://t.co/MqLgzj5Pmw pic.twitter.com/vgN7UYj64T

— Folha de S.Paulo (@folha) October 26, 2026

Bolsonaro’s Loss of Immunity

Flávio Bolsonaro will be left without public office for the first time in more than two decades, following Lula’s reelection. His Senate term ends January 31, 2027, and he did not stand for another mandate after serving three consecutive terms as a state deputy in the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly between 2003 and January 2019.

Bolsonaro then entered the Senate after the 2018 contest that carried his father to the presidency. By prioritizing his presidential bid, the legislator skipped the renewal of the upper house.

Actually, the senator is under investigation by the Supreme Federal Court for alleged money laundering, tax evasion and corruption. His defeat is expected to push the inquiry toward possible crimes connected to a 134 million reais deal with Daniel Vorcaro, of Master Bank, to finance the film “Dark Horse,” a tribute to his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is sentenced to 27 years in prison after a coup attempt in 2022.

If Flávio won the presidency, the case might have been shelved. The Federal Constitution establishes that the head of the executive power “cannot be held responsible for acts unrelated to the exercise of his functions.”

Without parliamentary immunity, prosecutors gain room to pursue those lines of inquiry. The Senator’s relationship with lawyer Willer Tomaz de Souza also draws scrutiny, as the Federal Police investigate whether Tomaz used betting operations to launder money. The end of Flávio’s mandate therefore carries consequences far beyond the ballot box. His departure from the Senate strips him of the shield that once kept judicial proceedings at bay and leaves the investigations against him exposed to movement.

For the Liberal Party, the cycle closes with a mixed record. The conservative bloc celebrated a “historic” legislative advance in the same election that ended its presidential hopes, securing a strong bench in Congress while its standard-bearer prepared to leave the chamber he had occupied for nearly a decade.

Flávio Bolsonaro now faces a future outside elected office for the first time since 2003. The man who built his career in his father’s shadow in Rio de Janeiro will hand over his Senate seat to party colleagues, while the courts take up the allegations that shadowed his rise through Brazilian politics.