11 hours into voting, Israel’s voter turnout hits high of 66.7%

By Rania Abushamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Voter turnout in Israel’s hard-fought parliamentary (Knesset) elections reached 66.7% as of 6 pm on Tuesday, the highest figure recorded for that hour since 1973, the Central Elections Committee said.

The figure marked an increase of approximately 9% compared with the same time in the previous elections, according to an update reported by Ynet.

“We have surpassed the number of voters on the night of the previous elections,” in 2022, said Din Livne, the committee’s acting director. “We will discuss extending voting hours.”

According to Israel’s private Channel 12, the turnout beat the previous record of 65.2%, set in the 1973 and 1988 elections.

Turnout stood at 55.7% at 4 pm, when over 4.08 million voters had cast their ballots, up from 44.9% at 2 pm, according to earlier figures from the committee.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party requested an extension beyond the scheduled 10 pm closing time (2000GMT) of polling stations, with Justice Noam Solberg, the committee chair, set to decide on the request.

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party opposed the request, saying no exceptional event had occurred to justify an extension. But Otzma Yehudit sought to join Likud’s petition, citing congestion and unusually long waits at polling stations.

The committee has clarified that anyone arriving at a polling station by 10 pm will be allowed to vote, even if they cast their ballot after that time.

Rania R.a. Abushamala