Final Poll Shows Right Bloc Leading, Supreme Court Bans Real-Time Vote Data
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
A final pre-election poll projects the right-wing bloc winning 62 Knesset seats, with the Likud at 30. The Supreme Court banned election observers from transmitting real-time digital voting data to parties. Political maneuvering continues, including efforts to consolidate parties and encourage turnout, while disqualified candidate Sami Abu Shehadeh criticized Israel as racist. An estimated 67,000 Israelis abroad are expected to return to vote in the upcoming election.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Final poll gives right-wing bloc 62 seats, Likud 30, and Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar" 20.
- Supreme Court bans election observers from transmitting real-time digital voting data.
- An estimated 67,000 Israelis abroad are expected to return to vote.
- Disqualified candidate Sami Abu Shehadeh called Israeli society racist.
- United Torah Judaism Chairman Yaakov Asher canceled a Channel 14 interview.
- Defense Minister Israel Katz and Opposition leader Yair Lapid exchanged sharp accusations.
Five days before Israel's 26th Knesset elections, a final poll from Channel 14 projects the right-wing bloc securing 62 seats, with the Likud party at 30 and Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar" party at 20. Naftali Bennett's "Achva" party gains one seat to 11, while Shas and "Democrats" lose seats, finishing with nine and eight respectively. The Arab parties are projected to win 14 seats, and the left-center bloc 44.
In a significant ruling impacting election day preparations, the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, prohibited election committee members and observers from digitally collecting and transmitting real-time voting data to their parties. Justices Khaled Kabub and Ruth Ronen ruled against Justice David Mintz, stating that digital monitoring of voter turnout is forbidden, even if it only counts voters and not identifying details. This decision affects election monitoring applications and comes just days before polls open.
Meanwhile, political maneuvering continues, including efforts to consolidate smaller parties and encourage voter turnout. United Torah Judaism Chairman Yaakov Asher canceled an interview on Channel 14 following controversy over his planned appearance on Channel 12, which airs partially on Shabbat. Sami Abu Shehadeh, a disqualified candidate, criticized Israel and Jewish society as racist in an interview with Qatari media, stating the primary goal of Arab parties is to prevent a right-wing government's return to power.
Efforts to persuade retired Major General Ofer Winter to withdraw his candidacy failed after a meeting with religious leaders. Winter rejected an offer for guaranteed government roles, asserting his internal polls show his party surpassing the electoral threshold. In a separate dispute, Eisenkot's "Yashar" party demanded the Likud remove billboards in Jerusalem and other locations, alleging they were designed to mislead voters by using "Yashar's" colors and Eisenkot's image without clear attribution.
The Joint List's conditions for supporting a future government, revealed in an interview with a Hezbollah-affiliated channel, include halting the Gaza war, opening a political horizon with Palestinians, and curbing settler violence. The Likud requested that news channels avoid live broadcasts of a rally for families of October 7 victims, citing concerns about election propaganda, a request met with anger from the organizing council. Finally, an estimated 67,000 Israelis living abroad are expected to return to vote, a figure that could significantly impact the election results.
Mentioned
