Chareidi Turnout Steady as Liberal Areas Slow on Election Day

Election Day for the 26th Knesset is producing a shifting picture: after a strong morning showing in liberal strongholds and among Arab and Bedouin voters, turnout data through the afternoon shows a marked slowdown in those areas.

At the same time, chareidi communities continue to vote at high rates, and the right-wing camp is pushing to bring voters to the polls through closing time at 10 p.m.

As of 12:30 p.m., turnout in the chareidi sector stood at approximately 35%, compared to 31.5% nationally. In Modi'in Illit, 36.7% of eligible voters had cast ballots; in Elad, 32%; in Netivot, 31.2%; in Ofakim, 30.2%; and in Bnei Brak, 28.4%. In Jerusalem, where hundreds of thousands of non-chareidi voters also live, citywide turnout reached 27.1%.

The more telling figure is not just the raw percentage but the pace of voting through the day. While polling stations in areas identified with the liberal camp saw active participation in the morning hours, recent hours show a significant slowdown in voting rates. By contrast, chareidi polling stations have maintained steady turnout.

Against this backdrop, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Gadi Eisenkot issued an urgent call to supporters of the change camp, warning of a late surge by Netanyahu voters. "Netanyahu in recent hours has returned to the familiar tricks, to lies and fear tactics to mobilize the masses. The same lies from previous election campaigns. This puts the change in danger!" Eisenkot said.

He urged his supporters to intensify efforts: "All of us need to be worried until 22:00, but much more than that, go out and convince friends, family members, to vote!" His words reflect the anxiety in the change camp over the possibility that evening turnout could reverse the morning's picture.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich convened dozens of local council heads for an emergency meeting. The gathering came after the Central Elections Committee published record figures showing that by 4 p.m., 55.7% of eligible voters had cast ballots, a record not seen since 1973 and a dramatic jump from 47.5% at the same hour in the previous election.

During the meeting, the prime minister addressed the council heads and warned against vote leakage to the liberal right. "We need to wake people up, get them out of their homes to vote, so they don't vote for Liberman, G-d forbid," Netanyahu said. "This isn't the right, it's fake right! We can win on condition that we get people out to vote. If he doesn't pass the threshold, the mandates pass to us."

It should be noted that turnout figures alone do not necessarily indicate an advantage for either bloc, and the outcome also depends on the composition of voters and the distribution of votes among parties. All eyes are now on the final hours of voting: will the slowdown in left-wing strongholds continue, and will the right succeed in closing the gaps or even reversing the trend? The picture will become clearer with the release of exit polls at 10 p.m.

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri issued an emergency call warning of apathy in chareidi and right-wing strongholds, but on the ground a different picture emerges: the chareidi public is turning out to vote in large numbers, and interim data point to a participation rate that may prove historic. Right-wing campaign headquarters emphasize that as overall turnout rises, so does the threshold percentage, making every vote for parties that fail to cross the threshold a direct risk of losing mandates for the national camp.