Israelis cast ballots for a new parliament on Tuesday, the first national election since the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed, according to taz.de. By 4 p.m. local time, turnout across the country stood at 55.7 percent, the highest figure ever recorded at that hour; the committee has no comparable data from before the 1973 election, taz.de reports.
The Central Elections Committee turned down a request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party to keep polling stations open past 10 p.m. local time (9 p.m. CET). The committee said the strong participation across all parts of society showed robust democratic engagement and that no need had been established to extend voting beyond the scheduled close, according to taz.de.
Why it matters
For Netanyahu, the vote is about holding on to power; for the country, taz.de reports, it is a decision on political direction. Surveys cited by the outlet point to a tight contest between the right-religious governing bloc and the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot, with neither camp projected to reach the 61 seats needed to form a government on its own.
The dispute over opening hours added a sharp edge to election day. Likud announced on Telegram that it had filed for an extension and urged supporters to back the party, taz.de reports. Eisenkot's centre-right Yesh Atid party opposed the move outright, saying nothing unusual had happened that would justify granting it. The party argued the request was meant to lay the groundwork for claims questioning the integrity of the result, according to taz.de.
Turnout lags in Netanyahu strongholds
The national figure was not matched everywhere. Data published by the Central Elections Committee and cited by the Israeli daily Ha'aretz show participation running below the national average in some of the largest cities and communities that backed Netanyahu by wide margins in 2022 — among them Kiryat Shmona in the north, Be'er Sheva in the south and Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv, taz.de reports.
Likud banners carried a different message, telling voters not to let "them" rig the election and asking people to report whether they had voted. taz.de describes this as spreading a conspiracy theory about fraud by opposition groups and as conflicting with the principle of a secret ballot. This is the first election in which polling station staff are barred from tallying votes for individual parties during voting and passing the counts to party representatives, the outlet notes.
Weather added to the day's difficulties. Storms developed in several areas of the south and centre by midday, and the meteorological service warned of flash-flood risk, taz.de reports.
Polling stations were due to close at 10 p.m. local time, with initial projections expected shortly afterwards.
What to watch: whether the final turnout holds its record pace, and whether the seat totals leave either bloc able to assemble a 61-seat coalition.
