Stormy weather across the country, a perception that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would win easily and a Likud court decision requiring thousands of Likud members to travel far to vote resulted in low turnout in Thursday’s Likud primary. The roughly 48.6% of Likud members who voted led Likud MK and candidate Gideon Sa’ar to call Netanyahu to concede, leading to Netanyahu’s win once more over the party. “I congratulate the prime minister on his win in the primaries,” Sa’ar wrote on Twitter after the votes began showing a clear win for the prime minister. “My friends and I stand behind him for the Likud to succeed in the elections.” “A huge win!” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter after initial election results started coming in. “Thank you to all members of the Likud for the trust, support and the love.” He continued, “I will lead the Likud to a big win in the upcoming elections and we will continue to lead the State of Israel to incredible achievements.” Netanyahu and his Likud challenger Gideon Sa’ar travelled to polling stations across the country in an effort to persuade people to vote. While Sa’ar and his campaign team made a point of expressing what they called cautious optimism, Netanyahu issued statements all expressing concern that the low turnout would harm his chances to emerge victorious in the race. “People are telling me they want me to win but they aren’t voting because they are sure I will win anyway,” Netanyahu said in a statement he delivered on social media on Thursday night. Speaking to Likud activists at the Jerusalem International Convention Center’s polling station shortly after he and his wife Sara voted at home, Netanyahu said: “Don’t let the win and rain defeat us. Our wind is stronger.” But KAN News reported that Netanyahu’s concern was insincere and that his own campaign’s data found that turnout among their supporters was ten percent higher than the Likud membership as a whole. Sa’ar voted at the Council for a Beautiful Israel building in Tel Aviv alongside his wife, veteran anchorwoman Geula Even-Sa’ar on Thursday morning, and expressed hope in an upset victory. “This is a fateful day for the Likud and the State,” he said. “We have it in our power to bring about change and new hope for the citizens of Israel and guarantee the continued reign of the nationalist camp and a victory for our path. I asked for you trust and your votes in order to bring about the vision that the people of Israel expect. Likud voters should cast ballots and guarantee victory for the party in the March 2 election.” Shortly after voting was supposed to get underway on Thursday morning, Sa’ar complained that voting had started early illegally in key polling states and that observers from his headquarters had been prevented from entering the polling stations, including one particular incident of vote tampering in Hadera. Sa’ar’s campaign sent a letter to the party’s election committee complaining about the issues. The 116,048 members of Likud were eligible to vote in their assigned polling station among 106 across the country from 9am to 11pm. Labor-Gesher responded to the Likud race by releasing a video comparing former Likud leader Menachem Begin’s modesty and commitment to seek peace to Netanyahu’s behavior. Blue and White’s number two, MK Yair Lapid, issued a statement congratulating United Torah Judaism leader Yaakov Litzman, saying that he would be the true winner of the Likud race, no matter who won.
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