Israel Election Sees Historic 44.9% Turnout By 2 PM, Highest Since 1973 As Netanyahu Faces Crucial Battle
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JERUSALEM:Israel’s voter turnout reached 44.9% by 2 pm on vTuesday, the highest at this stage since 1973, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a closely contested election being seen as a referendum on his leadership.
The Central Elections Commission said 3.29 million Israelis, or 44.9% of eligible voters, had cast their ballot by 2 pm (1200 GMT), the highest turnout since the commission started recording such statistics in 1973. Acting Director General Dean Livne said, “We have broken all records registered by the Elections Committee since 1973. There has been no such data.
The 44.9% figure marks a significant jump from 38.9% at the same time during the 2022 election. Earlier at noon, turnout was 31.5% compared to 28.4% last time. By noon, turnout among serving military personnel also exceeded 48%, up from 44.4% in 2022.
Netanyahu’s Crucial Battle:
More than 7.33 million Israelis are eligible to vote at 12,018 polling stations to elect the 26th Knesset, the 120-member parliament. Polling stations opened at 7 am and will close at 10 pm. This is Israel’s first general election since the October 2023 Hamas attacks and subsequent war in Gaza.
The election is witnessing a closely fought contest between Netanyahu’s right-wing and far-right coalition and the main opposition bloc led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, with neither camp assured of securing a majority.
As turnout surged, Netanyahu posted on X warning of huge lines in Arab settlements and urging right-wing strongholds to “wake up and go out to vote” if they don’t want “a government of Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also attributed the high turnout to exceptionally strong participation among Arab voters, with Rahat, the city with highest Arab population, recording 36.9% turnout till noon.
The day has also seen complaints of disruption, ballot slips being removed, and a knife-carrying man arrested near Democrats party leader Yair Golan in Tel Aviv.
