![Beit Shemesh Mayor Aliza Bloch doing her democratic duty.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=jpeg,fit=contain,width=900/2024/02/27/86c0e6f0-d56b-11ee-aa6e-77968757f996__h4480_w6720.jpg)
Local elections continue: according to Interior Ministry data, the overall voting rate throughout the country stands at 17.7% as of 1pm Israel time, amounting to some 1,256,916 voters. This is a significant decline compared to the numbers in the last round of local elections, when the numbers stood at 24%.
The highest voting rates were registered in Kiryat Ono (55.2%), Segev Shalom (48.9%), Kuseife (40%), Yafi’ (38.1%), Rechasim (35.8%), Zarzir (35.8%), and Ein Ma’ahal (34.5%). As far as the major cities, the voting rate has increased to 16.3% in Tel Aviv and stands at 15.2% in Haifa. The rate is just 12% in Jerusalem, 14.8% in Be'er Sheva, 19.2% in Ashdod, 18% in Bnei Brak, and 13.1% in Rishon Letziyon.
Breaking it down by area: Judea and Samaria registered the highest voting rates with 22.7% - meaning that more than a fifth have already voted. 21.6% have voted in the North, 9.1% in the South, and 17.4% in central Israel.