More Than Half of Israelis Cast Ballots as Voter Turnout Slows Down

TEL AVIV (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova — More than 3 million, or 54.6 percent of eligible voters, cast their ballots in the early Israeli legislative elections by 6 p.m. local time [16:00 GMT], the Central Elections Committee reported Tuesday.

Despite the slowdown in the voting, the election to the 20th Knesset – Israel's parliament – is expected to see one of the highest voter turnouts in the century. The latest figures are just slightly lower than the same ones in the last record-breaking election in January 2013, which saw a turnout of nearly 68 percent of the population.

Nearly six million voters are eligible to cast ballots on Tuesday in more than 10,000 polling stations across the country.

The two main rivals are the largest parties in Israel – Likud, headed by current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the opposition Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog.

According to the latest polls, the Zionist Union could be heading for victory in the Israeli national elections, as the right-wing ruling Likud shows signs of panic.

In his latest statements, Netanyahu expressed concern that active participation of Israel's Arab population threatens his prospects.

"The right wing's rule is in danger. The Arabs are coming in droves to the polls," Netanyahu declared, as quoted by local i24news television channel.

Should Netanyahu lose the elections, he would still have a good chance of forming Israel's next 120-seat legislature, as Likud has more political partners in the Knesset than Herzog's party. That means the Zionist Union would need a significant lead over Likud to form a coalition.