Israeli polling stations may remain open beyond scheduled closing time amid high turnout
- Election Committee says voting will continue until all voters who arrived before 10 p.m. deadline have cast their ballots
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- Election Committee says voting will continue until all voters who arrived before 10 p.m. deadline have cast their ballots
By Sahin Demir
ISTANBUL (AA) – Israel’s Central Elections Committee said Tuesday that polling stations may remain open beyond the scheduled closing time of 10 p.m. (2000GMT) amid high voter turnout in the country’s general elections.
Dean Livne, acting director general of the committee, said polling stations would continue operating after the deadline if voters were still waiting in line, The Times of Israel news outlet reported.
“At many polling stations, there are lines. When you reach a high voter turnout, there will always be lines,” Livne said during an update from the committee’s command center at the Knesset.
“We promise, everyone will vote. If there is a line at 10 p.m., the polling stations will continue to operate until everyone who arrived by 10 p.m. has voted. There is no need to worry,” he added.
Voting began at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) across Israel, with more than 7.3 million eligible voters choosing representatives for the 120-seat Knesset.
The Election Committee earlier reported that voter turnout had reached 31.5% by noon (1000 GMT), more than three percentage points higher than in the previous elections and the highest figure recorded at that hour since 1973.
Approximately 2.39 million voters had cast their ballots by noon, according to the committee.
The elections are Israel’s first general vote since the start of its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Şahin Demir