Israel goes to the polls on Tuesday with 10,132 ballot stations open around the country from 7 am to 10 pm. 5,656,705 citizens have the right to vote and choose between 34 party lists challenging for Knesset seats. This is the largest number of party lists ever in the 19 Knesset elections since the State of Israel was founded.
The center-left bloc is hoping for a high voter turnout and is concerned about a continuing fall in the level of voting in previous elections. The right-haredi bloc is hoping for a lower voter turnout, which they feel will strengthen the results in their favor. The weather forecast is for a mild, clear day, which will likely raise voter turnout.
Final effort to bring in votes In the final 24 hours before the polls close, the candidates will be making a last effort to bring in votes. Both the Labor party and Likud will be sending representatives door-to-door to persuade people to vote. Labor expects to reach 90,000 people in the next 24 hours.
At 10 pm as soon as the polling stations close, Israel's major TV station will broadcast the results of their straw polls, and when results become clear party leaders will come to their respective headquarters for victory or defeat speeches.
The real results will not be known until the early hours of Wednesday morning, and the official results will not be published until towards the end of the week.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 21, 2013
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