Voting polls opened today, AFP correspondents said, for unpredictable elections to determine whether Israelis still want incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as leader, or will seek change after six years.
Over 5.8 million voters can cast their vote between 0500 GMT and 2000 GMT in 10,372 polling stations nationwide for parties which will comprise the 120-member Israeli parliament. The next prime minister will be the party leader in the best position to form a coalition government.
Speaking after voting at a Jerusalem school shortly after polls opened, Netanyahu reiterated that he was seeking to form a rightwing coalition.
"There will not be a unity government with Labour," he said. "I will form a nationalist (rightwing) government."
But the surveys also show Netanyahu will have an advantage when it comes to piecing together a coalition with smaller allies from the right.
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