Israel Election Turnout Reaches 44.9%, Highest Since 1973

JERUSALEM, Oct 27: Voter turnout in Israel’s legislative elections reached 44.9% by 2 pm local time (3 pm Kuwait time) on Tuesday, the highest recorded for that hour since 1973, according to the Central Elections Committee.

More than 3.29 million voters had cast their ballots nationwide by that time, the committee’s acting Director General Din Livneh said in remarks carried by Yedioth Ahronoth.

“We have broken all records registered by the Elections Committee since 1973,” Livneh said. “There has been no such data.”

Earlier, the committee reported that 2.39 million Israelis had voted by noon local time (1 pm Kuwait time), an increase of more than three percentage points compared with the previous election.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attributed the high turnout to particularly strong participation among Arab voters and in left-wing strongholds.

More than 7.3 million Israelis are eligible to vote in the elections to choose members of the 120-seat Knesset.

Polling stations opened at 7 am local time (8 am Kuwait time) and are scheduled to close at 10 pm local time (11 pm Kuwait time).

The election is Israel’s first general election since the war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023.