According to elections officials at 6:00 PM, voter turnout nationwide stood at 52%, over 2.5% lower than in the 2015 Knesset elections. The polls in hospitals and prisons closed at 8:00 PM and the polls nationwide will be shutting at 10:00 PM, in less than two hours.

The race appears to be close and according to reports, with growing concerns among Arab MKs because as of 7:45 PM, voter turnout in that community has not passed the 30% mark.

It appears that even if Likud emerges the larges party, and this is questionable, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who would be entering his fourth consecutive term, will have to use all of his political no how to cut a deal with the smaller right-wing parties that he will need to build a coalition majority. Interestingly, analysts add that if Likud receives over 30 seats, it will also send a powerful message to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit that despite the reports of imminent criminal indictments against PM Netanyahu, the nation continues to support him and stand behind him.

Alternatively, if Benny Gantz and his Blue and White party receive the majority of the votes, and the presidential mandate to form a coalition government, it appears highly unlikely that Gantz will find the 61 seats, the minimum to announce he succeeded in building a coalition government. It will be close in any event, as the left-wing and centrist parties including Meretz and Labor have been working extremely hard over the past hours to get voters to get out and vote.

There are no statistics at present, but voter turnout in the chareidi sector is usually very high and it is believed this election will not be an exception. The followers of Peleg Yerushalmi have announced they are not going to vote in the election, accusing Yahadut Hatorah of selling out Yiddishkeit and therefore, they have decided to boycott the election. According to estimates, this will impact 30,000 to 40,000 eligible chareidi voters.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)