Candles light polling station
Photo: Kassem el-Shafi
Voters use alternate sources of light
Photo: Kassem el-Shafi
Bedouin polling station lit by cell phone
After thunderstorm in Israel's south knocks out power in several voting site in south, members of Bedouin community cast ballots to the light of candles, cellular telephones
As elections for Israel's 18th Knesset proceeded without mishap in most of the nation despite worries related to the stormy forecast, the democratic proceedings in the Bedouin city of Rahat almost became victims of the inclement weather, after a thunderstorm damaged power lines in the area.
The storm, which hit the area Tuesday evening, left a number of polling stations in the city without power. However, residents and polling officials were determined to keep things rolling, lighting the main area with candles and using light from cellular telephones to ensure they were voting for the correct party.
"Work has continued at the polling station and people are voting even without electricity," Ahmed Nesasrah, a polling official in Rahat, told Ynet. "We have candles and are using cell phones."
"We're trying to get an electric generator, but haven't succeeded in getting one yet. It's very bad, it feels like being in a cave," he added.
Moshe Yusef, the secretary at a different polling station that had also lost power, took a more lighthearted stance. "It's creating a very intimate atmosphere," he joked.
He added that "things are functioning fine. People are being cooperative and voting in the dark. It's taking a bit more time, obviously, but things are still moving along smoothly."
"We're not getting excited by the darkness and are continuing to work normally," added yet another polling official. "We want to complete the voting process properly."
The Central Elections Committee released a statement saying that they were aware of the electrical problem in Rahat and had instructed voting officials there to use emergency lighting sources such as candles in order to continue collecting ballots as planned.
