JERUSALEM
(AP) — Israelis were voting Monday in the country’s unprecedented third
election in less than a year to decide whether longtime Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu stays in power despite his upcoming criminal trial on
corruption charges.
Netanyahu,
the longest serving leader in Israeli history, has been the caretaker
prime minister for more than a year as a divided Israel has weathered
two inconclusive elections and a prolonged political paralysis. With
opinion polls forecasting another deadlock, Netanyahu is seeking a late
surge in support to score a parliamentary majority along with other
nationalist parties that will deliver him a fourth consecutive term in
office, and fifth overall.
He
faces a stiff challenge once again from retired military chief Benny
Gantz, whose centrist Blue and White party is running even with
Netanyahu’s Likud on a campaign message that Israel’s longtime prime
minister is unfit to lead because of the serious charges against him.
Both
parties appear unable to form a coalition with their traditional
allies. With the prospect of a unity government between them seemingly
off the table after a particularly nasty campaign, Monday’s vote may
well turn into merely a preamble to another election.
“I
hope that today marks the start of a healing process, where we can
begin living together again,” Gantz said upon voting in his hometown of
Rosh Ha’ayin in central Israel, warning voters not to “get drawn in by
the lies or by the violence” after the acrimonious election campaign.
There
was little fanfare in the days leading up to the vote, with a
noticeable absence of campaign posters on the streets and public rallies
that typically characterize to run-up to Israeli elections. With voter
fatigue clearly a factor, turnout could prove to be decisive. Election
day is a national holiday in Israel and the country usually boasts one
of the highest voter turnouts among Western democracies. But the second
repeat vote and fears of the new coronavirus, which has so far has been
kept largely in check, look to hinder turnout.
Israel
set up some 15 stations to allow voting by hundreds of Israelis who
have been ordered to remain in home-quarantine after possible exposure
to the virus.
Netanyahu
has tried to portray himself as a statesman who is uniquely qualified
to lead the country through challenging times. Gantz has tried to paint
Netanyahu as divisive and scandal-plagued, offering himself as a calming
influence and an honest alternative.
Gantz says he favors a national unity government with Likud, but only if it rids itself of its longtime leader
because of the corruption charges against him. Netanyahu, who still
enjoys widespread support in his party, insists he must remain prime
minister in any unity deal.
With
his career on the line, Netanyahu has campaigned furiously. He’s taken a
hard turn to the right in hopes of rallying his nationalist base,
promising to expand and annex West Bank settlements. In a campaign that
has been marked by ugly smears, Netanyahu’s surrogates have spread
unfounded allegations claiming Gantz is corrupt, unstable and
susceptible to blackmail by Iran.
The
most recent attempt appears to have backfired. Recordings have revealed
Netanyahu lied on live television about not being involved in a plot to
secretly record a Gantz consultant disparaging his boss. Channel 12
aired audio Sunday night of Netanyahu speaking to the rabbi who
clandestinely recorded the Gantz adviser and discussing when it would be
leaked to the media.
Netanyahu
is desperate to score a narrow 61-seat majority in parliament with his
hard-line religious and nationalist allies before heading to trial two
weeks later. Netanyahu has failed to secure himself immunity from
prosecution, but with a strong hold on power he could seek other avenues
to derail the legal proceedings against him.
Netanyahu goes on trial March 17 for charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust
stemming from accusations he accepted lavish gifts from billionaire
friends and promised to promote advantageous legislation for a major
newspaper in exchange for favorable coverage. He vowed he will prove his
innocence in court.
Opinion
polls forecast similar results to the previous two stalemates, and the
deadlock raises the possibility of a fourth election in quick
succession.
Maverick politician Avigdor Lieberman
once again looms as a potential kingmaker, with neither Netanyahu nor
Gantz able to secure a parliamentary majority without his support.
Lieberman has not committed himself to either candidate, though he has
promised there will not be a fourth election.
Polling
stations opened across the country at 7 a.m. Monday with exit polls
expected at the end of the voting day at 10 p.m. (20:00 GMT) Official
results are projected to come in overnight.
That’s
when the real jockeying may get underway, with attention shifting to
President Reuven Rivlin who is responsible for choosing a candidate for
prime minister. He is supposed to select the leader who he believes has
the best chance of putting together a stable coalition. The honor
usually goes to the head of the largest party, but not necessarily. Just
as important is the number of lawmakers outside his own party who
recommend him to the president.
Rivlin’s
selection will then have up to six weeks to form a coalition. If he
fails, another candidate then has 28 days to form an alternative
coalition. If that effort fails, new elections would be forced. It’s a
procedural process that remained hypothetical for Israel’s first 70
years of existence until it played out after the last election in
September. Should results match current opinion polls, and all the major
player stick to the campaign promises, it may well repeat itself.
“This
is usually a holiday, but to be honest I have no festivity in me just a
sense of deep shame before you, the citizens of Israel,” Rivlin said as
he cast his ballot. “We don’t deserve this. We don’t deserve another
horrible and filthy campaign like the one that ends today and we don’t
deserve this endless instability. We deserve a government that will work
for us.”
