Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

Israelis are voting this Tuesday in an unprecedented repeat election which would decide whether the country’s longtime Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu would remain in power.

Against the backdrop of a looming indictment over corruption charges, Netanyahu is seeking an unprecedented fifth term in office.  He faces a stiff challenge from a retired military chief in the country, Benny Gantz whose centrist Blue and White party is running at par with Netanyahu’s Likud.

Both parties could either struggle to form a majority coalition with smaller allies or be forced to accept a potential unity government after the polls. 

The election, which is the second this year after Netanyahu failed to build a coalition following April’s vote started at 7 am. Exit polls are expected at the end of the voting at 10 pm, with official results projected to come in overnight.

With his political career on the line, Netanyahu has campaigned furiously, staging a flurry of media appearances in a bid to rally his supporters to vote in large numbers to avoid the emergence of a left-wing government which he says would endanger the country’s security.

The centrepiece of Netanyahu’s late-hour agenda has been the pledge to extend Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank and to annex all the Jewish settlements there, something he has refrained from during his years in power.

The proposal sparked international condemnation, including from Europe and Saudi Arabia, an influential Arab country which has had a quiet, unofficial ties with Israel.

However, the United States kept mum over the development, suggesting that Netanyahu coordinated his plans with the Americans ahead of time.

He has also been flaunting his close ties to President Donald Trump in recent weeks, with the prospect of a defense pact between both countries shortly after the election.

On the other hand, Gantz is offering himself as an honest alternative to the scandal-plagued Netanyahu and his narrow coalition of ultra-nationalist and ultra-religious parties.

Campaigning with the rhetoric of unity and egalitarianism, Gantz had maintained that he represents a fresh start for Israel, ruling out any possibility of joining forces with a prime minister who has been accused of serious crimes.