JERUSALEM — Israelis voted on Tuesday in a closely fought general election, with early turnout running at its fastest pace in more than four decades.
The Central Elections Committee said 16.7 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots in the first three hours, the highest early rate since 1981, CBC News reported. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., when exit polls are due.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is neck and neck with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, whose Yashar party leads a “change bloc” with Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan. Neither bloc is projected to reach the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority.
Several parties alleged irregularities at polling stations during the day. The elections committee said there was no evidence of systematic tampering.
The campaign’s final days were dominated by an AI-generated image shared by Netanyahu showing a nuclear mushroom cloud, which Eisenkot called “hysterical,” and by the dispute over military conscription for ultra-Orthodox men.
Sources: BBC News, CBC News / AP
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