Poll: Secular mayoral hopeful top Jerusalem candidate, but nearly 1/3 of voters undecided

A new poll puts secular mayoral hopeful Ofer Berkovitch as the leading candidate in Jerusalem’s municipal elections, though nearly one-third of the capital’s residents have not yet decided who they’ll vote for.

Following Berkovitch, who the survey conducted for the Walla news site says has the backing of 22 percent of Jerusalem voters, is Likud Minister Ze’ev Elkin at 19% of the vote. In a distant third is Jerusalem council member Moshe Lion with 13% of the vote, followed by ultra-Orthodox candidate Yossi Deitch with 12% support.

Thirty-one percent of poll respondents, however, say they haven’t yet decided on who they’ll vote for, which could lead to a far different outcome in the elections than the survey suggests.

A candidate must receive at least 40% of the vote to avoid a runoff in the first-round vote scheduled for October 30.