Israeli Diaspora Voting Begins for Knesset Elections

Israelis working in consulates and diplomatic missions, along with official state envoys and their families, began early voting on Wednesday evening for the 26th Israeli Knesset elections, which are viewed as one of the most significant electoral rounds in Israel's history.

The first mission to cast its votes will be in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, where staff will begin voting at 11:00 PM Israel time (8:00 GMT), followed by the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Australia.

Voting by Israeli diplomats and expatriates abroad concludes on Friday morning, with the consulates in San Francisco and Los Angeles being the last diplomatic posts to vote.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, there are approximately 4,800 Israeli diplomats and expatriates abroad, plus their families, representing Israel through 99 missions and casting their ballots at 101 polling stations.

Israeli election law does not permit general citizens to vote outside Israel; it requires them to be present to vote within Israel at their designated locations according to the voter lists of the Israeli Election Committee.

This step will be followed by opening polling stations for Israeli soldiers on the 20th of this month, with their voting continuing until election day on the 27th of this month.

Thirty-eight Israeli electoral lists are competing for the votes of 7.33 million Israelis eligible to vote in the Knesset elections.

However, most opinion polls in Israel suggest that only 13 of these lists will surpass the electoral threshold of 3.25% of voters' votes.

These polls give the highest share of seats to the "Yesh Atid" party from the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, followed by the "Likud" party led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads a right-wing camp representing the current governing coalition.