JERUSALEM • After four inconclusive elections, it looks like the fifth time finally worked for Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel’s longtime former prime minister and current opposition leader appears to have engineered a surprising victory in the country’s fifth national vote since 2019, thanks to help from an extremist far-right party. This alliance could have profound implications, though – potentially ending his legal troubles at home while antagonizing friends abroad.

With nearly 90% of the ballots counted Wednesday, all signs pointed to a victory by Netanyahu and his religious and nationalist allies. The count, including 450,000 absentee ballots, was expected to be completed Thursday.

Tuesday’s election, like the previous four, was seen largely as a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule while facing corruption charges. And once again, opinion polls had been forecasting a continuation of the deadlock that has paralyzed the political system for the past 3½ years.

But Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister who has gained a reputation as a political mastermind during a total of 15 years in office, appears to have outsmarted his opponents with a disciplined campaign.

Israeli media portrayed Netanyahu as the winner on Wednesday, though he had yet to declare victory and his main rival, acting Prime Minister Yair Lapid, did not concede as vote counting continued.

Israelis vote for parties, not individual candidates, and coalition-building is needed to secure a governing majority in parliament.