(PHOTO LINK AT END OF ARTICLE) [One day laft to go before elections, and the heat is on as each candidate pushes their campain to the max. Yeshiva World will provide you with up-to-date coverage of this important election]

Tomorrow, Tuesday, voters in 159 municipalities around Eretz Yisrael will have the ability to exercise their right to vote, to select new local leaders. 4,847,280 registered voters will select new leaders and municipal councils. Ministry of the Interior officials report they are ready, expressing their hope that unlike the last election, they hope voter turnout will be high.

During a pre-election press conference, Minister of the Interior Meir Sheetrit urged all eligible voters to get out and vote, adding he has done his utmost to reduce the number of people serving on municipal councils, stating the larger the councils, the more difficult it is for a municipality to function.

Polls will open at 7:00am and close at 10:00pm. There are a total of 1,597 lists and 639 candidates for mayor and municipal council heads. There will be a total of 7,712 polling stations nationwide, only 10% of which are geared to accommodate disabled voters. The Interior Ministry has authorized 14,000 employees to oversee and run the elections, and a special headquarters will be operating in Yerushalayim’s Binyanei Ha’uma – Jerusalem Convention Center, tabulating the results of all the municipalities. Accurate results are expected shortly following the closing of polls.

Ministry officials continue to call on voters to exercise their democratic right to select a leader, explaining in Tel Aviv for example, voter turnout in the last election was only 29%. In Jerusalem turnout was 38% and in Haifa, 35%.

The price tag for the municipal elections is placed at NIS 270 million.

PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos taken by Yehuda Botlshauser & Co.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)