20:00:

Barkat campaign officials extremely concerned with low voter turnout citywide while voting in chareidi areas of the capital is relatively high.

20:09:

Some activists in the Beit Shemesh chareidi camp feel Neturei Karta residents informed police regarding forged ID cards being printed in the area.

20:17:

Voter turnout in Yehuda & Shomron was reported to be 46% at 19:00. Nationwide voting is 21% and in the Arab municipality of Kfar Kara, voting is 94%, the Ministry of the Interior reports.

20:30:

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai is confident he will be serving a fourth term after 15 years in office.

20:35:

Haifa Mayor Yonah Yahav is confident he will be reelected to a third term after 10 years in office.

20:26:

Voter turnout in Elad reported at 70%, Beit Shemesh at 45.4%, and Yerushalayim 20%.

20:35:

Three mayors who are facing criminal indictments are running for reelection – the mayors of Bat Yam, Nazareth Illit, and Ramat HaSharon. In the case of Bat Yam, the Supreme Court rejected a petition to oust the incumbent from the elections. In the case of the other two, the court said the law cannot prevent them from running but the court expressed disapproval of their seeking another term. It is likely that if the two are reelected, the court will evict them from their posts.

20:40:

In Sderot, the incumbent is expected to be reelected by a wide margin. In Beersheva the race is close between Mayor David Buskila and challenger Alon Davidi. Voter turnout in Beersheva is over 60% and in Sderot, 54%.

20:43:

Arab MK Hanin Zoabi hopes to become the first female Arab mayor in Israel and unseat the mayor of Nazareth, who has been serving for 20 years. I she is elected, she will have to resign from Knesset.

20:56:

Voter turnout in Yerushalayim stands at 31%, a far cry from the 2008 elections at the same time when voter turnout was 43%.

21:00:

Polls around the country close in one hour, at 22:00. Official election results are expected during the early morning hours Wednesday. Next “Election News Briefs” at 22:00.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)