Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu Declared Victor in Election After Overnight Vote Count

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was named the victor in Wednesday morning vote counts after exit polls Tuesday evening showed the politician was tied with competitor Isaac Herzog.

Overnight vote counting shows that Netanyahu and his conservative Likud political party beat out Isaac Herzog and the Zionist Union by sweeping margins. More counts will be made in the coming days, but Netanyahu has already declared a "great victory" for himself and his political party.

Netanyahu spoke to supporters on Wednesday, saying "reality does not take time out [...] The citizens of Israel expect us to swiftly form a responsible leadership that will work for them, and so we shall do," according to The New York Times.

"The citizens of Israel rightfully expect that we will act quickly and responsibly to establish a leadership that will work for them in areas of defense, the economy and society just as we promised in this campaign — and just like we will now set ourselves towards doing," he added.

When two out of three exit polls were declaring the race too close to tie on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu took to Twitter to declare a "great victory."

"Against all odds: a great victory for Likud, a great victory for the national camp led by Likud, a great victory for the people of Israel," the politician wrote on the social media platform.

Herzog released a statement Wednesday morning, saying he and his political party will continue to fight for their values.

"This is not an easy morning for us and for those that believe in our way. We will lead the fight, together with our partners in Knesset, for the values we believe in," Herzog said.