Turnout at Israel’s fourth election day in two years was 51.5% as at 6pm, a 4.8% drop from the same time in the previous election, the General Elections Committee (CEC) reported Tuesday afternoon.
By 6pm, at least 3.3 million of around 6.5 million eligible voters had cast a ballot at one of about 13,500 polling stations distributed across the country.
The IDF said 69% of voters voted among servicemen at 6pm.
At the same time, election officials also report a low turnout among COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine that showed up only in small numbers to the 751 designated polling stations around Israel.
By noon, only about 1,200 out of approximately 6,700 coronavirus patients were eligible to vote and 1,012 out of more than 22,000 quarantine citizens had provided the shuttle service provided by the CEC with them to the polling station and back.
Returning officials said they suspected these low numbers could come from supply problems, after receiving many complaints from lonely people at home who were unable to coordinate a shuttle to their designated polling station. . The CEC said it was in contact with the cab company operating the transport scheme.
Meanwhile, Israeli voters expressed their concerns about the prospect of a fifth election in two years with the low turnout.
“The feeling is sad and I really hope to change,” said Benny from Ra’anana’s capital. “This is our fourth attempt and I am waiting for sanity to return under a different government.”
5 צפייה בגלריה
Voters are waiting to cast their vote in Israel’s fourth election round in just two years in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Gettyimages)
Sarit Spitz, who also lives in Ra’anana, told Ynet that while she enjoyed the several days off from the work she has had in the previous two years thanks to recycling election days, it still has a lot of criticism for decision makers.
“It feels like each of them is too busy with their own ego and how they can motivate themselves,” she said.
“If our leaders were so concerned about who the prime minister is and found a way to work together, this would have gone down to everyone else. I’m not sure the I voted as part of a strategy or it came from the bottom of my heart this time but I believe I made the right choice in the end. “
“I was a bit hesitant because of the unpleasant situation in the country,” said Yehudit from Tel Aviv. “The fourth election in two years is a disaster, it’s terrible and I hope this comes to an end. I hope we don’t meet here again for the fifth time, and I hope that I voted well. “
Oren from the West Bank settlement in Kedumim – where the leader of the Zionism Religious Alliance, MK Bezalel Smotrich – lives – told Ynet that low voters in the area feared, but that sentiment had spread when which saw members of his community and neighbors going to the polls. stations.
“At first things were very sleepy here, but then messages started pouring in that woke everyone up. I hope this is where we end the election rounds. that and that we don’t get dragged into another one, “he said
Members of Israel’s Arab minority, who make up about 20% of the country’s population, made gloomy predictions about the region’s voter turnout, which has reached higher levels in previous elections.
They attributed the possible decline to the Islamist party Ra’am draining from the Arab alliance List and the latter’s support for LGBT rights, a topic that remains taboo among the Arab community which is well preserved.
“[Ra’am Chairman] Mansour Abbas says he wants the rights of the proud community, which is deceptive, “Adham Odeh of Haifa told Ynet.” The joint list has voted to eliminate a turnaround and I hope this will not affect the turnout in the Arab region. ”
Odeh also said he believed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to court votes from the region would “only allow members of the community to vote for Arab parties.”