Polls open in Israel for countrys first election since October 7 attacks
Most polling stations in Israel opened at 7 a.m.on Tuesday, Oct.
27, for the election for the 26th Knesset, with voting scheduled to continue until 10 p.m.Some stations will operate on shorter schedules.Some 7.33 million Israelis are eligible to vote, according to Israeli Central Elections Committee figures dated Sept.
6, an increase of 543,177 since the previous election four years ago.The committee listed 12,018 regular polling stations nationwide, including 6,208 accessible stations.It will be the country’s first general election since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct.
7, 2023.Some 330,000 young Israelis are casting ballots for the first time, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee.“This is a celebration of Israeli democracy,” said Dean Livne, the committee’s acting director-general.Thousands of committee employees had worked to ensure every voter could cast a ballot “easily and without fear,” his statement continued.The committee also warned that rumors and misinformation may circulate online during the day.It urged the public to check the source and context of reports, images and videos before sharing them.Election Day in Israel is a national holiday, with schools, kindergartens and most workplaces expected to close.
Voters choose party lists rather than directly electing a prime minister.Lists must receive at least 3.25% of valid votes to enter the Knesset.Military voting began on Oct.
21 at Israel Defense Forces bases and outposts across operational arenas, including in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.More than 850 polling stations, many of them mobile, were deployed, according to the IDF, with voting continuing through Election Day subject to operational requirements.Eligible Israeli diplomats serving abroad and their family members began voting on Oct.
15.President Isaac Herzog attended the opening of voting at Israel’s embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, calling the election “a celebration of democracy” and urging citizens to vote...