Politics
Israel Election Sees Highest Turnout in 50 Years Amid Concerns Over Arab Town Voting
By mid‑afternoon on Tuesday, nearly 45 percent of Israeli voters had cast ballots, the highest 2 p.m. turnout in five decades, according to the Central Elections Committee. The figure is 6 percent higher than at the same time in the 2022 election. Pollster Mitchell Barak, a former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Al Jazeera that the turnout is very high and that it may surpass the historic peak of 1973, a year Israel was also involved in a major war. He added that the numbers will benefit incumbent parties, as the 3.25 percent threshold for entering the Knesset means more votes are needed to reach that cut‑off.
Israeli officials noted that several polling stations experienced exceptionally long lines, attributed to high turnout despite rainy and blustery weather in parts of the country and a flood warning in some areas.
Netanyahu urged supporters to vote in a message more than five hours after polls opened, saying turnout was high among his opponents on the left and among Palestinian citizens of Israel, about a fifth of the population. He said, “We need it to be high too. You all need to stream to the polls. This is a fateful moment.” Netanyahu has warned supporters of the prospect of high turnout among Palestinian citizens in Israel ahead of the vote, seeking to mobilise his base under the slogan “the right or Palestine”. Palestinian candidate Ahmed Tibi said those voters were casting ballots in “unprecedented” numbers.
Netanyahu and his main rival Gadi Eisenkot have ruled out partnering with Arab parties, citing a lack of shared values, although some scenarios envision them propping up a minority government to ensure Netanyahu is removed from office.
An Israeli rights group has filed a complaint with the election commission warning that widespread delays could be suppressing the vote among Israeli Palestinians. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said in its complaint to the Central Elections Committee that delays had been reported in at least 18 communities and asked the committee to investigate whether these delays are deliberate. The ACRI also reported a large presence of police and National Guard officers at a polling station in the Negev Desert, raising concerns that officers were using crowd control as a pretext to prevent people from entering to vote.