Israel election turnout hits ‘record high’; Netanyahu’s ‘stolen election’ claim sparks controversy over refusing to accept the results

[Financial News] Israel is holding a general election three years after the Hamas terror attack, and turnout has already reached a record high in data dating back to 1973. With Arab voters turning out in force in an election that could determine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future, senior figures in the governing coalition, increasingly alarmed, have raised claims of election rigging, prompting controversy over whether the results will be accepted.
Local media, including The Times of Israel (ToI), reported on the 27th (local time) that, according to figures from Israel’s Central Elections Committee, nationwide turnout stood at 44.9% as of 2 p.m. It followed a record-breaking rise from 31.5% at noon. Dean Livne, the committee’s acting secretary-general, said, “This has broken every record held by the committee since it began compiling hourly turnout figures in 1973.” The committee announced that polling stations would remain open after the 10 p.m. closing time if voters were still waiting to cast their ballots.
The unusually high turnout, particularly the strong participation in Arab-majority areas such as Rahat and Kafr Qasim, has left the ruling right-wing coalition on edge. In a video message to his supporters, Netanyahu referred to senior Ra’am officials who were arrested while trying to offer voters money or valuables and claimed, “Arab voters are flocking to the polling stations. They are trying to steal the election from us.”
Key figures in the governing coalition are also fighting to rally conservative voters. Transport Minister Miri Regev of the Likud Party, a close Netanyahu ally, urged people to vote in a post on X, saying, “It’s a choice between the right and Palestine.” Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also issued a video statement from an Arab town, declaring, “If you want Israel to remain a Jewish state in the face of the ‘crazy turnout’ in Arab society, come out to the polling stations.”
The opposition, by contrast, sharply criticized Netanyahu’s claims, saying they were an attempt to lay the groundwork for rejecting the results if he lost the election. The opposition Yashar Party, led by former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, issued a statement saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu is panicking and inventing claims of election rigging without any evidence,” and criticized him further: “This is no coincidence; he is already laying the groundwork to challenge the election results.”
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter