The 2015 Israeli legislative (Knesset) election thread

[Statistikhengst]

Photo source.​

Israeli legislative election 2015 - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

and, as reference:

Opinion polling for the Israeli legislative election 2015 - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia


The polls are open in Eretz Yisrael from 07:00-22:00, GMT +2. Like most of Europe, Israel is not yet on daylight savings time, so right now, Israel is 6 hours ahead of the East Coast of the USA, which means that the polls will close at 4 PM today, EDT. This is the 20th Knesset election in Israel's (modern) history. Almost 6,000,000 Israelis are eligible to vote and there are 10,000 polling stations throughout that small country. In 2013, almost 3.6 million votes were cast. Wait and see how many will be cast today. 15 different parties (called "lists") are on the ballot today.

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that turnout for today's election is expected to be massive:

Israel Elections Benjamin Netanyahu casts vote as massive turnout expected for 20th Knesset elections - Israel Elections - Jerusalem Post

Election day is a Holiday in Eretz Yisrael, and voting usually takes 15-20 minutes, tops, so Israelis go vote and then enjoy a nice day.

Here's a quality, sober write-up from the JP about what election day means to Israelis:

A grand celebration of Israeli democracy - Israel Elections - Jerusalem Post

When the polls close at 22:00, Israeli news is likely to start publishing preliminary results. Be very careful of interpreting prelims. There will still be votes to be counted. And in terms of a possibly very thin margin for one "list" or the other, the actual coalition-building that ensues may take some days.

The threshhold for any party to get into the Knesset is 3.25% of the total national vote. This means that the little parties have to hoof-it to get to 3.25%, otherwise, they fall out of the Knesset seat statistic.

Here three links about the electoral history of Eretz Yisrael:

Israeli Electoral History Jewish Virtual Library

Elections in Israel - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

https://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_beh.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


As the returns are coming in, I will be posting them on this thread.

It would be nice to keep this thread clear of nasty partisan commentary and simply let the results be reported. Feel free to post enlightening commentary from all sides, as far as I am concerned, but plase, avoid the nastiness that can ensue. There will be plenty of time afterwards, on other threads, for people to be nasty. Regardless of your positions, witnessing Democracy in action, I believe, is good for all of us.


Coyote westwall AVG-JOE - I thought this thread might especially interest you three as Election Day in Israel progresses. And I am gone for most of the day....

 

[gtopa1]

Bibi4eva!!!!

Greg

 

[gtopa1]

Something one should always remember:

Back in Tel Aviv, Doron remarked that Israel’s dramatic political landscape has become ripe ground for incitement. "We have to live with each other after these elections," she said. "People are very torn right now."

Israel polls set to open in key election - Al Jazeera English

This is going to be an interesting count.

Greg

 

[Statistikhengst]

Something one should always remember:

Back in Tel Aviv, Doron remarked that Israel’s dramatic political landscape has become ripe ground for incitement. "We have to live with each other after these elections," she said. "People are very torn right now."

Israel polls set to open in key election - Al Jazeera English

This is going to be an interesting count.

Greg

I would submit to you that a divisive political environment can sometimes, but not always, be a productive thing and to it's great credit, Israel, just like the USA, is not afraid to let the world see it's dirty laundry in the election process. I consider it a refreshing sign of greatness. What is important to me is that as many voters as possible make their voices heard, then that is true democracy. According to the JP, there are more registered voters in Eretz Yisrael than ever before and regardless whether this results in a nail-biter or a landslide, this is a good thing, in my book.

 

[Lipush]

Thanks for opening this thread up!

According to mid-day(12) update, the voting percentage for now stands on 26.7%

 

[Statistikhengst]

Lipush - L'aila Tov!

I am VERY glad that you are here and will publish some updates.

So, only 5 hours have gone by, 10 more to go, and already almost 27% of eligible voters in Eretz Yisrael have cast their votes. Outstanding! I am hoping for an 80% turnout, which would be over 5 million votes.



Please post here often today.

 

[Lipush]

Today's headline:

 

[Lipush]

Lipush - L'aila Tov!

I am VERY glad that you are here and will publish some updates.

So, only 5 hours have gone by, 10 more to go, and already almost 27% of eligible voters in Eretz Yisrael have cast their votes. Outstanding! I am hoping for an 80% turnout, which would be over 5 million votes.



Please post here often today.

I went voting very early, it was before 9 AM that I finished there (we vote at the town's only school) and it was only one man standing in line for the ballot I was registered to, so thankfully didn't have to wait a long time.

Waiting patiently to see how it all turns out

 

[Lipush]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

 

[Coyote]

In the US we have regions that tend to be red (conservative) and blue (liberal) with urban areas predictably more liberal. How does that play out in Israel?

Also....mostly, when we hear the news, the issues on Israel that get reported are national security, peace process, Iran. What are the important domestic issues playing out in this election?

 

[Lipush]

In the US we have regions that tend to be red (conservative) and blue (liberal) with urban areas predictably more liberal. How does that play out in Israel?

Also....mostly, when we hear the news, the issues on Israel that get reported are national security, peace process, Iran. What are the important domestic issues playing out in this election?

In Israel doesn't go by colors, what you can find is inner polls of parties which are not always credible, and you at times can find perscentage by cities and towns if you really follow.

To answer your second question, the ones who put emphasis on the inner issues (mostly economics and social issues) are in the Zionist Union and Meretz.

Also, by what it seems, the voting for Meretz this time around are low. We still have hours to go, but they're not overjoyed in Meretz.

 

[Coyote]

In the US we have regions that tend to be red (conservative) and blue (liberal) with urban areas predictably more liberal. How does that play out in Israel?

Also....mostly, when we hear the news, the issues on Israel that get reported are national security, peace process, Iran. What are the important domestic issues playing out in this election?

In Israel doesn't go by colors, what you can find is inner polls of parties which are not always credible, and you at times can find perscentage by cities and towns if you really follow.

To answer your second question, the ones who put emphasis on the inner issues (mostly economics and social issues) are in the Zionist Union and Meretz.

Also, by what it seems, the voting for Meretz this time around are low. We still have hours to go, but they're not overjoyed in Meretz.

What are the main domestic issues for Israel right now?

 

[aris2chat]

In the US we have regions that tend to be red (conservative) and blue (liberal) with urban areas predictably more liberal. How does that play out in Israel?

Also....mostly, when we hear the news, the issues on Israel that get reported are national security, peace process, Iran. What are the important domestic issues playing out in this election?

In Israel doesn't go by colors, what you can find is inner polls of parties which are not always credible, and you at times can find perscentage by cities and towns if you really follow.

To answer your second question, the ones who put emphasis on the inner issues (mostly economics and social issues) are in the Zionist Union and Meretz.

Also, by what it seems, the voting for Meretz this time around are low. We still have hours to go, but they're not overjoyed in Meretz.

What are the main domestic issues for Israel right now?

cost of living, high rents, limited housing, high cost of military and security.........

 

[Statistikhengst]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

That would be about 4.3 million votes cast, considerably more than in 2013. Good for the Democratic process, to be sure.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Lipush - is there an area or areas in Eretz Yisrael that is/are considered Likud bastions where, if voting goes out the roof, it is good for Bibi. And conversely, the same question for Zionist Union?

Is Tel Aviv pretty much split? How about Sderot?

Would it be fair to assume that many ultra-orthodox votes will come from settlement areas?

What about Jlem?

 

[Penelope]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

and how many would that be? The total no. of Israelis abroad?

 

[Penelope]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

That would be about 4.3 million votes cast, considerably more than in 2013. Good for the Democratic process, to be sure.

4.3 million Israelies voted from abroad, I thought we only had like 5 million in the US, who all gets to vote?

 

[Hossfly]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

and how many would that be? The total no. of Israelis abroad?

Counting the Lost Tribes, about 67 million. No one knows for sure.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

and how many would that be? The total no. of Israelis abroad?

Worldwide: Last report says that 71.2% of Israelis abroad voted for the Israeli 20th elections

That would be about 4.3 million votes cast, considerably more than in 2013. Good for the Democratic process, to be sure.

4.3 million Israelies voted from abroad, I thought we only had like 5 million in the US, who all gets to vote?

I am sorry, Penelope, but your postings make absolutely no sense to adults at all. We are talking about voters eligible to vote in today's election in Eretz Yisrael, which means they must be Israeli citizens and have Israeli identification. Most all of them surely lived within the borders of Eretz Yisrael. A small percentage (as in, ambassadorial teams, etc) live abroad, but that must be a very small percentage, indeed.

You are surely welcome to post here, especially if you want to post interesting information, but trolling is not really in in 2015. Just sayin...

 

[Hossfly]

Lipush what's the latest update?