Polls close in tense round 2 of Jerusalem municipal elections

13 November 2018, 10:13 pm

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Polls closed tonight at 10 p.m. in the tense Jerusalem mayoral runoff between candidates Moshe Lion and Ofer Berkovitch, with turnout rates in the capital reported at a mere 26.3 percent, in a race largely overshadowed by an outbreak of violence in southern Israel.

According to the Interior Ministry, as of 9:45 p.m., just over one quarter of eligible Jerusalem residents –168,000 of 638,000 — had exercised their right to pick their next mayor.

A second round of municipal voting was held today in 54 cities, towns, and regional councils — areas in which no single candidate garnered at least 40% of the vote on October 30.

The preliminary results are expected to trickle in overnight, with a final count anticipated tomorrow.

— Marissa Newman