Israelis vote in first election since Oct. 7 as Netanyahu faces Eisenkot
Israelis are voting Tuesday in their first national election since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tight race against former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, the BBC reported. Turnout by 10 a.m. local time was the highest at that hour since 1981, according to the Central Elections Committee. Voting is under way; no exit polls or results have been released.
Early turnout: Turnout reached 16.68% by 10 a.m., with more than 1.2 million ballots cast, the Central Elections Committee said, Ynet reported. That was 0.78 percentage points higher than at the same point in the previous election. A total of 7,331,981 people are eligible to vote, and 36 parties are competing for seats in the 120-member Knesset, according to Ynet.
The race: Polling published Friday suggested Netanyahu and Eisenkot, who leads the new Yashar party, were nearly neck and neck, the BBC reported. Neither bloc is projected to win the 61 seats needed for a majority, which could mean weeks or months of coalition talks. Eisenkot’s “change bloc” also includes former prime minister Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan, according to the BBC.
The issues: The opposition has attacked Netanyahu over the security failure that preceded the October 7 attacks and has pushed for an independent commission of inquiry, which he has resisted, the BBC reported. Netanyahu has cast himself as “Mr Security” and points to his close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. He is on trial on corruption charges, which he denies.
When results come: Most polls close at 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET), when Israeli broadcasters publish exit polls, which can vary significantly from the final count, the BBC reported. Between 600,000 and 650,000 special double-envelope ballots, mostly from soldiers, reservists and displaced residents, will be counted separately, and officials expect to finish the count by Thursday afternoon, Ynet reported.