Labor primaries underway, yet again
Concerned about low voter turnout following Tuesday's primaries fiasco, Labor chairman calls on registered members to once again show up at polling stations and help party elect 'best possible team' ahead of general elections
After a failure in the computerized voting system forced the Labor party to cancel its primary elections on Tuesday, polling stations opened yet again on Thursday and party heads called on registered members to come out and cast their ballots.
Some 59,000 members are eligible to participate in the primaries and vote in any of the 175 polling stations throughout the country. Voting commenced at 12 pm and stations will remain open until 10 pm.
The concern regarding low voter turnout prompted Labor Chairman Ehud Barak to call on the party's registered members on Wednesday evening to come and vote: "We will elect the best possible team and gather strength ahead of the real campaign over the public's trust in our path and our leadership."
After the computerized systems failed to work on Tuesday, the voting will be held manually, a fact which is expected to delay initial results till late into the night.
National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said after casting his ballot at the Rishon Lezion polling station on Thursday: "The important thing is that the Labor Party embarks on a new road today, with the best list. At the end of this road we may even reach 25 Knesset seats."
Daniel Edelson contributed to the report
