Joint List candidate optimistic: 'Every vote counts'

Amid calls for a boycott of the election and fear-mongering about Palestinians threatening the Israeli right-wing by showing up en masse to the polls, one person appeared particularly optimistic today: Joint List candidate Sami Abu Shehada.

Speaking to MEE in Yaffa this afternoon, Abu Shehada, who ranks 13th on the Joint List candidate list, said he had noticed increased participation in several polling stations he visited today in Palestinian-majority areas.

“This is a much more positive election than the one last April. People are far more encouraged. There is better participation,” he said, adding that Benjamin Netanyahu’s racist incitement against Palestinian citizens of Israel had “pushed people to vote more”.

For Abu Shehada, the close race between Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gant’s Blue and White party means every vote matters, and that smaller groups like the Joint List, which represents Palestinian citizens of Israel, can play a tie-breaking role.

“The Joint List will have a far bigger political importance than just a few seats because of this existing split in Israeli society between two equal camps,” he said. “Every vote counts in parliament.”

While Abu Shehada said he expected the election to end in a coalition government between Likud and Blue and White, “I believe the Joint List will be the surprise of this election”.