Israelis went to the polls on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in a national election widely described as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is the first Israeli election since the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, which set off the war in Gaza.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and are scheduled to close at 10 p.m. Stations in smaller localities, hospitals, prisons and nursing homes close at 8 p.m. About 7.3 million people are eligible to vote at 12,018 polling stations, according to the Central Elections Committee, including some 330,000 first-time voters, as reported by Reuters.
By 10 a.m., turnout was 16.68 percent, with more than 1.2 million ballots cast, the committee said. That compares with 15.9 percent at the same hour in the previous election and is the highest at that time since 1981, according to the Economic Times and the Times of India.
Netanyahu, 77, is seeking re-election at the head of a coalition of nationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties. He faces an opposition bloc loosely led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff whose son was killed in the Gaza war. Opinion polls show the two sides roughly tied, according to The New York Times and Reuters. About 13 percent of voters were undecided, according to data from the Israel Democracy Institute cited by Reuters.
Opposition leaders have called for accountability over the security failures that preceded Oct. 7 and have promised a national inquiry. Netanyahu has resisted an independent commission and has vowed to press ahead with a judicial overhaul, which critics say could undermine democracy. President Donald Trump has endorsed Netanyahu. Eisenkot has said he expects Trump to work with any leader Israelis choose. Itamar Ben-Gvir, voting in Kiryat Arba, predicted Netanyahu would return as prime minister.
A clear result is not expected immediately. Official results will be announced Nov. 4, though a broad indication is expected by Wednesday, according to the Economic Times. After results, President Isaac Herzog will consult factions and name a lawmaker to try to form a government. That person has up to 42 days to assemble a majority of at least 61 of the 120 Knesset seats, the Times of India reported. If no coalition emerges, Reuters reported, Netanyahu could stay on as caretaker until another election next year.
Palestinians in the West Bank were under an Israeli military lockdown during the vote, The New York Times reported. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza cannot vote in Israeli elections.
