People walk past a Likud party election banner reading "Right wing or Palestine" on a street in Bnei Brak, Israel, on Sunday (local time). The Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, governs in coalition with far-right minority parties. [AP]
People walk past a Likud party election banner reading "Right wing or Palestine" on a street in Bnei Brak, Israel, on Sunday (local time). The Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, governs in coalition with far-right minority parties. [AP]

Tens of thousands of Israelis are boarding flights home to cast ballots in the country's general election, which began Tuesday (local time). About 7.3 million eligible voters are choosing 120 members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and experts say most of those making the journey from abroad are motivated by a desire to hold Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accountable.

The Times of Israel projected that at least 50,000 citizens would return for the vote. But according to the US nonprofit Aid Coalition, at least 67,000 Israelis had already come back by last week solely to vote.

Israel does not allow overseas absentee voting except for soldiers, diplomats, hospitalized patients and refugees, meaning citizens living abroad must travel to Israel in person to cast a ballot. Despite that inconvenience, tens of thousands have made the trip — a turnout experts attribute largely to widespread sentiment that Netanyahu should be voted out of office.

The Financial Times quoted Dafna, a 47-year-old Israeli woman who flew back from Madrid to vote. "The sense of urgency to save the country is very strong, and we want to come back and live here," she said. "This is the last chance." She added that if Netanyahu wins again, "we have lost our home … it means we are no longer part of it."

Miki, a 46-year-old Israeli living in New Jersey, told the Financial Times he was "extremely worried about the future of this country." "If Netanyahu wins, he will trample us," he said.

Those voting to punish Netanyahu criticized him for exploiting the war to entrench his political position. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Netanyahu had pushed in recent weeks for new airstrikes against Iran but was blocked by military chief of staff Eyal Zamir. Allegations have already circulated in and outside political circles that Netanyahu has sought to stoke security crises during the election campaign in order to highlight military achievements.

As the stream of returning voters grew, several organizations beyond the Aid Coalition formed to help Israelis get home in time to vote. Anti-government activist groups chartered flights under the banner "Saving Israeli Democracy" to help overseas residents return.

Polling opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday and closes at 10 p.m. Vote counting runs from Tuesday through Friday (local time), and the official result must be certified by law by Nov. 4. The count takes time because of the large volume of "special ballots" cast by diplomats, soldiers and refugees at overseas missions. The National Election Commission tallies those votes only after verifying there are no duplicates. In the 2022 general election, special ballots numbered about 463,000 — roughly 10 percent of all votes cast. That share could grow this year given the increase in military mobilization and the number of displaced people.

Experts said special ballots and votes cast by returning overseas Israelis could prove a significant wild card in this election, since neither group has ever been captured in polling, making their leanings difficult to predict.

The stakes are heightened further by the fact that Israeli elections have frequently been decided by margins of just a few thousand votes. This race is also expected to be extremely close, with former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot and Netanyahu running neck and neck.

Although the legal deadline for official results is Nov. 4, exit poll figures will be released as soon as voting ends at 10 p.m. Tuesday. A fuller picture — incorporating special ballots and other outstanding votes — is expected to emerge around Thursday.


kate01@heraldcorp.com