Three Israeli parties lodge complaints over alleged ballot irregularities
Yashar, Yisrael Beiteinu and another party have filed complaints with election officials, citing incidents such as missing ballots and partially opened envelopes, while early voter turnout reaches a record high for the election cycle.
Three political parties have submitted formal complaints to Israel's election authorities alleging irregularities at polling stations. Yashar reported an incident in which a voter tried to remove all of its ballots from a site and claimed deliberate damage and theft of its ballot papers, as well as unusually long lines in areas where it expects strong support. Yisrael Beiteinu said a voter received a partially opened envelope containing a Likud party ballot, which the party says was recorded by election staff.
A spokesperson for one of the parties said:
"The large number of incidents raises serious suspicions that these are not isolated mishaps, but rather a systematic and deliberate attempt to sabotage the democratic process, prevent citizens from exercising their right to vote and influence the election results. Anyone who tries to steal ballot slips is trying to steal the election. This is a serious violation of election integrity and the fundamental right of Israeli citizens to vote."
Despite the allegations, voter participation is high. By 10 a.m. IST, turnout reached 16.7% with 1.2 million votes cast, surpassing the 2022 figure of 15.9% at the same time and marking the highest early turnout since 1981. Turnout climbed to 30% by noon. The Israel Defense Forces reported that 30% of soldiers had voted by 10 a.m., a five-point increase from the previous election, with voting available to troops stationed in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon via mobile polling stations. Diplomatic staff abroad also voted early, and about 70,000 Israeli citizens returned from overseas to cast ballots, as the country does not permit absentee voting. Approximately 500,000 first-time voters are eligible to vote in this election.