The present election campaign in Israel will cost more than any of the previous national elections held since the establishment of Israel, but it is practically certain that it will call out the least number of voters ever participating in electing members to the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament.
This became clear today, a week before election day, although attendance at election rallies has increased during the last few days. Earlier, the public evinced little interest in the campaign meetings. The elections will be held Aug. 15.
Because the voting in this year’s elections takes place in the Summer – the previous elections were held in the Fall – there will be quite a large number of absentees. In addition, it is anticipated that many will abstain from voting because of lack of interest. It is also expected that many voters will cast blank ballots to demonstrate their indifference to the result of the elections, or their protest that the elections were not necessary.
The elections this time are generally considered by many Israelis as “untimely”. They were brought about as a result of Premier Ben-Gurion’s resignation over the “Lavon Affair”. This resignation led automatically to the fall of the Cabinet and the dissolution of Israel’s Parliament, necessiting new national elections.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
