From Local election exit polls indicate Jerusalem’s Moshe Lion, Tel Aviv’s Ron Huldai set to retain power
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Voter turnout remained low on Tuesday, with only 49.5 percent of eligible voters — 3,511,758 out of 7,100,390 — casting ballots in the municipal elections, down from 56% during the previous vote in 2018.
The votes are now being counted and results from smaller communities are expected to be released in the coming hours, while larger towns and cities are expected to have clearer picture of the results in the early morning.
The final results will not be immediately clear, however, due to the high number of IDF soldiers and reservists voting at military polling stations around the country.
In the predominantly ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, 66.2% of voters cast ballots, 45.6% in the coastal city of Ashdod, 40.5% in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, 39.1% in Haifa and 31.4% in Jerusalem.
Exit polling conducted by Direct Polls and published by Channel 14 indicates that both Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai are likely to remain in office, beating out their respective challengers Yossi Havilio and Orna Barbivai by significant margins.
Lion gave a victory speech after midnight in which he spoke first about the imperative to bring Israel’s hostages back from Gaza, and sent a message of support for IDF soldiers fighting against Hamas.
According to the poll, former Mayor Yona Yahav leads in Haifa with 33% of the vote, likely requiring a second round of voting. In Beit Shemesh, incumbent Aliza Bloch garnered 38% against challengers Moshe Abutbul and Shmuel Greenberg, who were respectively at 33% and 29%,meaning that the Jerusalem suburb also appears set for a run-off.
