Voting in the Israeli parliamentary elections began on Tuesday morning at local time (7:00 a.m.) and will continue until 10:00 p.m. (20:00 UTC), amid fierce competition between the camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition camp.
The Central Elections Committee said in a statement obtained by Anadolu Agency that 7,331,981 voters are eligible to vote, and they will cast their ballots in 12,180 polling stations spread across Israel.
Details of the electoral process
Thirty-seven lists are competing for 120 seats in the Knesset (parliament), and public opinion polls in recent weeks showed that only 13 lists are expected to surpass the electoral threshold and win seats.
The committee noted that Knesset elections are held at the same time, day and hour, throughout the country, and Israel is considered a single electoral district regarding the distribution of seats and election results.
Voters directly elect their representatives to the Knesset by voting for a list of candidates, in a secret procedure where the voter casts their ballot behind a curtain, alone, except in rare cases where a physical disability prevents them from voting themselves.
Elections on schedule
This is the first Israeli election since 1988 held on schedule, after the Knesset completed a full four-year term.
Knesset elections are held every four years, but the Knesset can dissolve itself before completing its term by a law approved by a majority of its members, i.e., 61 members.
The Knesset is also dissolved before completing its term if it fails to form a government, fails to approve the state budget on time, or if the head of government dissolves it with the president's approval and no alternative government is formed.
Expectations of no clear majority
Estimates from Israeli television stations indicate that voter turnout will be high, amid fierce competition between the Netanyahu and opposition camps.
Opinion polls suggest that neither the Netanyahu camp nor the Jewish opposition camp will be able to reach an alliance comprising 61 members of the Knesset, which is the number required to form a government.
The election has been described as the most important in Israel's history due to the fierce competition, with Netanyahu facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
Netanyahu will cast his vote on Tuesday afternoon at a school in western Jerusalem, while the office of opposition "Yesh Atid" party leader Gadi Eisenkot said he will cast his vote on Tuesday afternoon at a school in Herzliya, central Israel.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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