Israeli Election Commission Orders Every Voter Counted by Hand, Then by Hand Again, Until Netanyahu Is Satisfied
Following a record midday turnout in Israel's parliamentary vote, the Central Elections Committee has launched an unprecedented recount that will occupy polling staff until the next vote is due.
The Central Elections Committee of Israel has announced that every ballot cast in Tuesday's parliamentary election will be counted again, by hand, in a process officials say will last until the next scheduled election. Committee chair and ceremonial lawyer Yitzhak Malka told reporters that the recount would begin as soon as the last polling station closed, and would continue in shifts around the clock.
Staff at more than 10,000 polling stations have been instructed to remain at their tables with their pencils, rubber gloves and folding chairs. Several Tel Aviv schools have been converted into permanent counting halls, and the Jerusalem municipality has ordered that the city's bus lanes be given over to the transport of sealed ballot boxes at walking pace, escorted by a motorcycle honour guard of retired judges.
"Nobody is calling the result into question," Malka said, adding: "We are simply counting again until nobody can call it into question, which, in the present climate, may take a while." His remarks came as the Knesset cafeteria confirmed it had begun preparing one hundred thousand sandwiches for the counters.
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's office said it had been asked to supply its own counters, and had duly seconded a team of volunteers who have agreed to count the same ballots in reverse alphabetical order. Netanyahu's office declined to comment, citing the need for the Prime Minister to remain at his desk in Jerusalem to watch the boxes arrive.
Residents of several Haifa neighbourhoods report that the nightly counting has already changed local life, with queues forming outside schools before dawn and the municipal bakery moving to a schedule of two loaves per counter, per hour.
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