Some 600 candidates vied for 3.8 million votes in 156
different local authorities for the post of authority head
(which in cities is called "mayor") for the next five years.
About one-third of them were women. Twenty-two thousand five
hundred candidates on 1,600 lists vied for positions on the
councils.
The polls opened at 7:00 a.m. and closed at 10:00 p.m. This
was the second time Election Day was not a national holiday.
At schools classes were held as usual except for
approximately 1,000 schools that were used as polling places.
It was also the first election in which 17-year-olds voted,
adding a constituency of 148,000 eligible voters.
Voters cast two voting slips, one for authority head and one
for the list vying for spots on the council. At certain
voting places, such as Bnei Brak, there was only one
candidate for the post of council head and residents voted
either for or against him using a white slip. In contrast, in
Kfar Saba voters faced an array of 9 different mayoral
candidates.
According to a Dachaf opinion poll commissioned by Yediot
Achronot before the elections 57 percent of respondents
said they were sure they would go to the polls to vote, 36
percent planned not to go and 7 percent were undecided. The
Center for Local Government forecast a low turnout rate of
just 35 percent. During the previous municipal elections the
average voter turnout rate across the country was just 40
percent.
Five thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight polling places
were set up around the country. The elections arrangements
cost NIS 350 million. Due to the ongoing strike at the
Interior Ministry many eligible voters do not have a national
ID card, but valid passports and driver's licenses bearing a
photograph were also accepted. The final election results
will be announced during the course of Wednesday (after we go
to press).
Shinui vied for local authorities for the first time in an
attempt to translate its success in the Knesset elections
into seats on the local level as well. Yisrael Beiteinu is
also trying to strengthen its power across the country.
Nine percent of the country's citizens did not participate in
the elections because elections were already held in their
locations on a different date. This includes the residents of
Jerusalem, Haifa and Or Akiva where elections were held last
June. Only 156 of the country's 266 local authorities held
elections. The number of council members was based on the
number of residents, ranging from 5 to 31. In just three
authorities there was no race for the post of authority
head.
Until 1978, authority heads were selected by the council
members but since then they have been chosen by direct vote
of the citizens. Until 1998 a mayor could also serve as a
Knesset Member. Due to the change in the law the mayors of
Jerusalem (Ehud Olmert), Haifa (Amram Mitzna) and Or Akiva
(Yaakov Edri) were forced to resign from their posts to
remain in the Knesset and therefore local elections were held
in June in these three cities. The voter turnout rate then
was extremely low: 38 percent in Jerusalem and just 36
percent in Haifa.
Mayors' salaries range from NIS 26,880 to 30,574 with a total
of eight pay scale ratings depending on the size of the city.
A mayor is entitled to a private car at a cost of NIS
155,000. Deputy mayors' salaries ranged from NIS 21,053 to
25,303.
Bnei Brak has 84,377 eligible voters. One hundred and twenty-
six polling places were set up throughout the city. Only one
candidate ran for mayor, but eight lists vied for 23 city
council seats, two fewer than the outgoing city council.
Therefore a smaller number of voters could get their
candidate a seat on the city council. The polling places were
run by 126 poll secretaries who underwent special training.
The polls were manned by 378 poll observers. Every poll had a
chairman, deputy chairman and member appointed by the
Elections Committee.
During the Knesset elections held in Shevat the voting
distribution in Bnei Brak was as follows: United Torah Jewry
got 32,346 votes, Shas received 12,443 votes, Likud got 5,463
votes, the Mafdal got 3,275 votes, Labor got 1,383 votes, Am
Echad (which is now running together with Labor) got 314
votes, Shinui got 1,457 votes, and HaIchud HaLeumi got 1,249
votes.
