BICOM

Israelis authorities began to gear up for tomorrow’s general election with final preparations being made for the vote. Israel Police operations division chief Nissim Mor told Israel Radio that twenty thousand police officers, border policemen and volunteers will help secure polling stations across the country, with many other security guards and election officers on hand.

With diplomatic staff stationed abroad having voted last week, the first polling booth on Israeli soil opened yesterday at the Kirya army headquarters in Tel Aviv. Israelis serving in the military are able to vote up to 72 hours ahead of election day. Some 750 special polling stations, including 100 portable stations are available for the use of IDF soldiers.

Reports suggest that there is an expected eighty to ninety per cent turn-out among military personnel. This compares to a predicted turn-out of 62-68 per cent among eligible Israeli voters as a whole, according to the Times of Israel. This would represent a similar figure to the 64.8 per cent of eligible voters who cast their ballot during the last election in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Central Election Committee has printed 262 million ballot slips representing the 34 parties running in the elections, at a cost of 1.3 million shekels (around £200,000). As required by law, 7.5 million slips were printed for each contesting party, accounting for 30 per cent more slips than the number of eligible voters. Israelis vote by placing a pre-printed ballot slip with an acronym representing their party of choice in an envelope, which is then deposited in the polling box. Election day will be a national holiday in Israel, with schools and many businesses closed.