Some two million Israelis and permanent residents will go to local government polls on October 25 to elect Mayors and local councils in 148 localities, By the deadline for registration of party list and mayoral candidates at midnight last night, 838 separate lists and the names of 508 mayoral and chairmen candidates had been registered with the central local government elections committee.
Candidates for city, town and village councillors are voted on according to party lists, but since the last elections four years ago Mayors and council chairmen have been elected on a direct, popular base.
Just before the midnight deadline, what the Likud coalition had feared would be the defection of three major mayoral candidates turned out to be only one — that of Ramat Gan incumbent Mayor Israel Peled, Known outside his own city for his activities in local and world Maccabi affairs.
The other two incumbent mayors who had earlier said they would run as independents, without party backing, because of dissatisfaction with some the names placed on their council lists by Likud headquarter, reached a compromise and will be backed by Likud. They were Yehezkel Harmelech, Mayor of Rehovot, and Eli Landau, Mayor of Herzlia.
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