Heavy Rains Prevent Southern Israelis From Voting on Election Day
Translated & summarized from Vesty by baba
Hundreds of residents in southern Israel were unable to vote on election day due to heavy rains and flooded roads blocking access to polling stations. Despite pleas from parties like Likud to extend voting hours, the Central Elections Committee rejected the request. The committee confirmed polling stations would close at 10 PM as planned, with those already present allowed to vote. Flash flood warnings are in effect for southern regions.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Heavy rains and flooding prevented hundreds of southern Israelis from voting on election day.
- Residents in the Arava Desert and Neot HaKikar were stranded by blocked roads.
- The Central Elections Committee rejected a request to extend voting hours.
- Police had closed sections of Highway 90 due to the severe weather.
- Flash flood warnings are in effect for southern Israel.
- Polling stations were scheduled to close at 10 PM nationwide.
Heavy rains and flooded roads on election day have prevented hundreds of residents in southern Israel from casting their ballots. Citizens in small communities in the Arava Desert and Moshav Neot HaKikar, south of the Dead Sea, are stranded at police checkpoints on Highway 90, fearing they will not reach polling stations before they close at 10 PM.
Police had previously closed Highway 90 in both directions from Eilat to Ein Gedi. Later, traffic was blocked north of Ein Gedi up to the Lido junction. Yoni Stern, a resident of Neot HaKikar, told Ynet, "We are stuck on the highway at the HaArava junction and are deprived of the opportunity to exercise our right to vote. We called the Central Elections Committee, but there has been no response yet. The police are also silent. Let them extend the polling hours or open the highway."
The Likud party, along with Shas and Otzma Yehudit, petitioned the Central Elections Committee to extend voting hours. However, the Yashar and Democrats parties opposed the request, arguing that no exceptional circumstances justified an extension. Around 8 PM, the committee rejected the petition, confirming that polling stations would close as scheduled at 10 PM. The committee stated that anyone arriving before closing time would be allowed to vote, even if they finished after 10 PM.
The rains began on October 27th in the Eilat mountains, the Southern Negev, the Arava, and Samaria. Flash flood warnings are in effect for the Arava, Negev, and Dead Sea regions. The storms are expected to reach central Israel by nightfall, with potential thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail, though temperatures will remain seasonal.
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