Voter turnout remains low in the second round of Israel’s nationwide municipal elections, with only 180,579 people, or 18.8 percent of eligible voters, casting ballots as of 5:00 p.m.
According to the Interior Ministry, the highest voting rates recorded on Sunday are in the northern villages of Deir al-Asad and Peki’in at 39.8% and 38%, respectively.
Among larger cities, 27.9% came out to vote in Beit Shemesh, 23.2% in Kiryat Gat, 19.1% in Rehovot, 15.4% in Ness Ziona, 14.4% in Ramle and only 11.6% in Haifa.
Elections are being held today in locations where none of the candidates running for mayor managed to secure the 40 percent of ballots necessary to win in the first round of municipal elections two weeks ago.
The day is not a legal holiday, unlike the first round at the end of last month, and voting will be restricted to the hours of 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, the Interior Ministry released the final audited numbers for voter participation in the first round, held on February 27. Around 3.8 million out of 7.08 million eligible voters, or 53.7 percent, cast ballots — down from 56.9% in 2018 but up from 51% in 2013.
