Likud Asks to Extend Voting Hours; Yashar Opposes Request

Original report Likud submitted a request on October 27 to extend voting beyond the scheduled 22:00 closing time. Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, is to decide whether to grant the request. The application concerns the hours during which voters can participate in the election. Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party strongly opposed the application. Yashar said that "no exceptional event occurred" that justified approving it. The party also accused Likud of preparing the ground for challenges to the integrity of the election, linking that allegation to Benjamin Netanyahu's statements during election day. This was Yashar's characterization of the request. Otzma Yehudit took the opposite position, asking to join Likud's petition. It cited congestion at polling stations and unusually long waiting times as the grounds for its intervention in support of extending the voting hours. The Central Elections Committee separately emphasized that voters who arrive at their polling station by 22:00 are entitled to cast their ballot even if they actually vote after that hour. That clarification addresses people who reach the station before the scheduled closing time; Likud's request seeks permission for voting beyond the scheduled hours. Update • Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party joined the request to extend voting hours by one hour, citing unusually long queues at polling stations where the party expected support.