Likud Puts Ashdod at the Center of Its Election Day Push

Senior Likud ministers toured Ashdod on election day and Prime Minister Netanyahu was scheduled to follow, as the party worked to bring its voters to the polls.

Likud made Ashdod a focus of its election day campaign on Tuesday, October 27, sending senior figures to the city and scheduling a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for 16:30.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Justice Minister Yariv Levin both campaigned in the city during the day, according to the local news site Ashdod Hayom.

Ohana and Levin rally local activists

Ohana visited a polling station and met local Likud activists earlier in the day. Levin followed, working with local Likud organizer Asher Nahon to bring supporters to the polls.

The local site Ashdods reported that the visits were part of a push to energize Likud voters, as the campaign worried about participation in its traditional strongholds.

Netanyahu expected at the Sea Mall

Ashdod Hayom said Netanyahu would stop at the Sea Mall shopping center at 16:30. Haredim Ashdod reported at 13:33 that he was expected to meet Mayor Yehiel Lasri and tour the city.

By early evening, local outlets had not yet reported on the visit itself.

Turnout in Ashdod

By 13:00, 44,428 Ashdod residents had voted, according to Ashdods. Turnout was highest in neighborhoods 12, 13 and 15 and lowest in neighborhoods 3 and 6.

By 17:00, turnout in the city stood at about 33.5 percent, with 63,470 of 189,139 eligible voters having cast ballots, the site reported.

Why Ashdod matters for Likud

With nearly 190,000 eligible voters, Ashdod is one of the largest voter pools in Israel. Israel votes as a single national constituency, so every ballot cast in the city counts toward a party's national total.

That makes turnout in large cities a central part of Likud's strategy in the final hours. Polls close at 22:00.