Jerusalem: Millions of Israelis voted in a general election that has turned into a referendum on the six-year rule of embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting an all-out battle for a record fourth term against a spirited, united opposition.
Netanyahu, 65, who has been in power for nine years over three terms, is pitted against 54-year-old Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog, who has promised to repair ties with the Palestinians and the international community and also deal with middle class issues such as price rise.
Israeli media's first exit polls predicted a neck-and-neck contest, showing Herzog's Zionist Union and Netanyahu's Likud tied at around 27-28 Knesset seats each. The exit polls are close but not altogether consistent between various channels. The tie leaves them both poised to try and muster a coalition, though pre-election polls gave the Zionist Union a lead on Likud.
As the polling closed at over 10,000 polling stations throughout Israel, voter turnout stood at nearly 72 per cent, up from 63.9 per cent in the 2013 election. Interestingly, Herzog's centrist Zionist Union was ahead in the recent opinion polls by about four seats in Israel's 120-seat Knesset, or parliament.
Election is being held for all the 120 seats. Four Arab parties are fighting under one banner of the Zionist Union for the first time and they could become a factor in the coalition-building. Israel President Reuven Rivlin this evening made clear to political officials that he would work for a national unity government.
"I am convinced that only a unity government can prevent the rapid disintegration of Israel's democracy and new elections in the near future," Rivlin said. The surveys show Netanyahu will have an advantage over his rival when it comes to piecing together a coalition with smaller allies from the right.
In a last-ditch effort to woo right-wing voters, Netanyahu yesterday ruled out a Palestinian state, backtracking from his own six-year-old policy. Netanyahu, whose campaign focused on Israel's security and Iranian nuclear threat, today appealed to hard-liners to rush to the polling booths, saying high Arab voter turnout was endangering his right-wing party's dominance.
"Arab voters are going to the polls in droves. Left wing organisations are bringing them in buses," he wrote on Facebook. Israeli Arabs make up 20 per cent of the population. Amid signs that his six-year rule could be in jeopardy, the hawkish prime minister called on supporters to vote for him to "narrow the gap" between his right-wing Likud, that has 18 seats in the current Parliament, and the Zionist Union.
The voter turnout was quite high this time after general turnout in polls have been on the decline since 1999 till when it used to be close to 80 per cent. Polling stations saw a record 13.7 per cent voters in the first three hours when voting began at 7 AM - over 20 per cent higher than voter turnout in previous two elections.
Israel has a proportional representation system, meaning a coalition government is likely to be formed within its Parliament.
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