On October 27 local time, Israel's 26th parliamentary elections were held.
As Israel held its national parliament elections for the first time since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and several subsequent regional wars, these elections were seen as an important political test for voters against the Netanyahu government. After the voting began, voters showed rare enthusiasm, breaking records for turnout in recent decades.
According to data released by the Israel Central Election Committee, as of 10 a.m. local time, three hours after voting started, the national voting rate had reached 16.68%, setting a record for the highest level in the same period since 1981. By noon, the voting rate further increased to 31.5%, with approximately 2.31 million people voting. This represents the highest voting rate in parliamentary elections in 53 years, since 1973.
It is worth mentioning that this record-breaking voter enthusiasm occurred against a backdrop of deep social division in Israel. After the 2022 parliamentary elections, Netanyahu returned to power and formed a coalition government with religious right-wing and ultra-orthodox parties. After Hamas launched attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel was involved in military conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Issues such as national security, war responsibilities, the military service system, and the way the government operates became the main focus of debate during this election.
Israeli opposition parties demand accountability for the failures of the government and security forces during the attacks on October 7, 2023. They advocate for the establishment of a formal investigation committee and the reform of the military service exemption system that has been enjoyed by Orthodox Jewish communities for a long time. Netanyahu continues to emphasize the military achievements of his government during the war, attempting to gain support from voters who prioritize national security.
From a historical perspective, this election also reminds people of the Israeli parliamentary elections after the Fourth Middle East War in 1973.
In those years, the elections originally scheduled for October were postponed to the end of December due to the war. Military mistakes at the beginning of the war led to strong dissatisfaction among the people towards the government. However, the coalition led by Prime Minister Golda Meir remained ahead in the elections. Meir resigned only the following year, under political pressure caused by the investigation into war-related responsibilities.
Additionally, it should be noted that the record being broken is only the cumulative voting rate at a specific point in the morning of the election day, not the final voting rate throughout the day. In Israeli history, the final voting rate has often been close to or even reached 80%. For example, the final voting rate in the parliamentary elections of 1988 was 79.7%, while in 2022 it was only 70.6%. Whether the final voting rate will break the historical record remains to be seen.
According to the schedule, most of the polling stations in Israel will close at 10 p.m. local time on the evening of the 27th (4 a.m. Beijing time on the 28th), and then vote counting will begin. Various television stations will also broadcast exit polls.
Since Israel uses a proportional representation system, all parties must receive at least 3.25% of the valid votes to enter parliament. For any coalition to form a stable majority government, they typically need to gain at least 61 seats out of 120 in parliament. Therefore, even a slight change in the national voting rate could affect whether smaller parties can cross the threshold, thereby impacting the seating distribution among the two major political factions and the future formation of government.
Whether this election, which set a record for voting rates in several decades, will ultimately lead to changes in Israel's political landscape remains uncertain until the actual voting results are known. Both the ruling and opposition political factions are expected to fail to win the 61 seats needed to form a majority government – this means that political battles may continue for weeks or even months to come.
