Herzog Accepts Israel's Certified Oct. 27 Election Results, Launches Government Talks

Israel's president has signed off on the vote. Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results from the Oct. 27 election, per the Associated Press, formally closing out the counting phase and kicking the country into coalition-building mode.

Next up: consultations. Herzog said he will begin meeting with party representatives to hear their recommendations on who should form a new government, the round of talks that traditionally precedes the president handing a mandate to a candidate.

That mandate is the real prize — the person who gets it holds the first chance to stitch together a governing majority. The AP report did not say when the consultations will start, how long they will run, or which party leaders Herzog will see first.

For now, the certified numbers are locked in and the political jockeying shifts behind closed doors at the president's residence. Watch for Herzog's choice of mandate holder as the signal of where this is heading.