Likud and right-wing allies scramble to mobilize voters amid apparent alarm over turnout

By Stav Levaton

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Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel

Parties in the current right-wing coalition are scrambling to mobilize voters in the final hours of election day, launching door-to-door campaigns and convening emergency meetings amid apparent alarm over alleged high voter turnout in Arab communities and left-wing strongholds.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have spoken to coordinate efforts to get right-wing voters to the polls ahead of their closure, according to a statement from Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party.

The two are also expected to convene dozens of local authority heads for an emergency meeting, after Smotrich cut short his planned tour of polling stations to return to party headquarters for urgent consultations.

Religious Zionism warns that high turnout could significantly reduce the chances of smaller right-wing parties crossing the electoral threshold, urging voters to instead back parties certain to enter the Knesset.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of Otzma Yehudit is going door to door in Bat Yam, encouraging residents to vote and strengthen the pro-Netanyahu bloc.

Hundreds of volunteers from the West Bank are also canvassing homes in Lod as part of an initiative to boost turnout, Netanyahu’s Likud party says, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warning that “this day will determine the existence of the Jewish state.”