The returning voters are being described in broad terms as numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands, with no definitive total established. Israeli citizens generally must cast their ballots in person in Israel. The reported exceptions include diplomats and certain official emissaries abroad, while ABC Australia Sport also identifies serving soldiers among those exceptions.
ABC Australia Sport reports that the AID Coalition estimates as many as 67,000 voters are returning, based on expatriate surveys and registration data for its Fly&Vote initiative. The same outlet reports that hundreds of Israeli citizens from Australia are making the journey; Israeli citizen Anat Dror estimated that between 500 and 1,000 Australians were traveling to vote.
The mobilization has drawn attention from Netanyahu’s Likud Party as the prime minister faces a serious challenge to retaining power, according to reporting cited by Fortune and ABC Australia Sport. India Today described the overseas-voter effort as a concern for Likud, while ABC reported that the party appealed against the Fly&Vote initiative and later withdrew the case after reaching an agreement.
The reports establish the scale of the travel only in broad terms and do not provide a specific forecast of how the returning voters may affect the result or the balance of the electorate. Any electoral consequence therefore remains uncertain.
SOURCES
- ABC Australia Sport'Our motherland needs us': The Israeli expats flying home to vote
- FortuneTens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are expected to fly home to vote in a close election after many anti-Netanyahu liberals left the country
- India TodayThousands of Israelis fly home to vote in polls: Why Netanyahu's party is concerned