Arya News - Polls opened in Israel on Tuesday for the parliamentary elections, with the vote to continue until 10 p.m. local time (20:00 GMT), a Sputnik correspondent reported.
According to the Central Election Commission, about 7.3 million of more than 10 million Israeli citizens are eligible to vote. More than 12,000 polling stations with 18,000 ballot boxes have opened across the country. The election day is an official holiday in Israel. To gain a majority in parliament and form a government, a party or an alliance needs to secure 61 mandates in the 120-seat Knesset. In early September, the Central Election Commission approved the lists of 38 political blocs, parties and movements for running in the elections. According to polls, more than 10 political parties and blocs are expected to clear the electoral threshold of 3.25%. The main powers in the ruling coalition are the right-wing Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ultranationalist Religious Zionist Party and Jewish Power, as well as the ultra-Orthodox Torah Judaism and Shas parties. The key opposition forces are the centrist Yashar party led by Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, the centrist Together alliance of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the right-wing Israel Our Home party headed by Avigdor Lieberman. According to polls, a joint list of Arab parties and the left-wing Democrats party are also expected to clear the electoral threshold.