Deri: Turnout figures worst in 50 years, emergency call issued

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri issued an emergency call Tuesday to the chareidi and right-wing public, warning of high turnout in left-wing strongholds and the Arab sector alongside marked apathy in chareidi and right-wing areas. "I am very worried about the apathy in chareidi and right-wing strongholds," Deri said. "The high turnout in left-wing strongholds and the Arab sector is deeply worrying."

He stressed that according to data in Shas's possession, "according to our data, we haven't seen numbers like this since 1977." The Shas chairman noted that "there are huge lines at polling stations in Bedouin villages in the Negev and in Tel Aviv, and unfortunately, precisely among us, in chareidi and right-wing strongholds, there is complacency."

Deri concluded his remarks with a call: "People of the right-wing bloc, go out and vote!"

Deri's emergency call comes against the backdrop of field reports of a significant gap in turnout between sectors. A chareidi official told Kikar Hashabbat that "this is not a campaign cry, we are truly at a low point, with turnout percentages we have never known, while in other sectors the numbers are rising sharply."

Earlier in the morning, Deri voted at a polling station in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem and said: "Baruch Hashem we merited to fulfill a mitzvah and to listen to the words of chachamim. I call on everyone to hurry, to vote and to make an impact. There is a real battle here over Judaism, over Torah, and above all over obedience to daas Torah."

He added a warning: "There is an expectation of very high turnout in left-wing strongholds and in the Arab sector. Tens of thousands came from abroad to vote, to bring down the government and to harm Torah. Therefore, we must do everything to strengthen. Everyone must do his part."