Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory in his primary election battle for leadership of the Likud party, following an exit poll which predicted a landslide victory for the Israeli prime minister.
Figures suggest more than 70% of its members have backed him to lead them in an unprecedented third national election in quick succession in March.
An exit poll cited by the political correspondent for Israel’s Channel 12 news predicted that Netanyahu, head of Likud for the past 14 years, would retain the famously loyal rightwing party’s leadership with 71.52% of votes in an internal ballot, despite battling three damning corruption indictments.
Netanyahu claimed victory shortly after the release of the exit poll without waiting for the official result. “A giant victory,” he tweeted. “Thanks to the members of Likud for the trust, support and love,” he said. “God willing, I will lead Likud to a big victory in the coming elections.”
There had been speculation that his former protege turned rival, Gideon Saar, could dent the 70-year-old’s previously watertight Likud party support.
However, the exit poll suggests that Saar only took 28.48% despite Netanyahu’s perceived weaknesses. As well as the impending court cases, the prime minister failed to secure a clear win in two inconclusive elections this year.
Polls opened across the country at 9am (0700 GMT) on Thursday, with roughly 116,000 members eligible to vote. Voting ended at 11pm local time.
By early evening, roaring winds, heavy rain and the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, when children are out of school, were blamed for a lower than expected turnout as people stayed home. Just under 50% of eligible voters cast ballots.
At a polling station in central Jerusalem, Tommy Levi, a 67-year-old taxi driver who has been a Likud member for 40 years, said he would vote for “Bibi”, the prime minister’s often-used nickname.
“Bibi did things for Likud members that no one else was able to do,” he said, referencing Donald Trump’s decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, a move decried by Palestinians who also claim parts of the city. Israel, which claims all of Jerusalem, celebrated the move as a diplomatic triumph.
Outside the polling centre, two white tents had been erected. One was for Netanyahu, where volunteers were handing out T-shirts, stickers and even umbrellas to several supporters. Next to it, a much quieter tent had fliers for Saar.
Yaron Rochin, 68, a Saar volunteer with a white handlebar moustache, conceded that most people who passed on Thursday morning appeared to be Netanyahu supporters. “I hope towards midday or in the evening more Saar supporters will come, if not here then in the rest of the country,” he said.
Saar, a former lawyer and journalist who has held several senior government positions, focused his campaign on the promise of being a more electable leader who can end the political deadlock that has engulfed Israel.
Sombre and staid compared with Netanyahu’s more energising, media-savvy style, Saar had hoped to sway voters nostalgic for a more restrained statesman, even if his position regarding the Palestinians is considered even more hawkish and nationalistic.
While Netanyahu’s rivals outside his party focused on the bribery and fraud charges, Saar mostly ignored them on the campaign trial. It was seen as an attempt not to alienate Likud voters who believed the prime minister’s argument that the indictments were a media-led “witch-hunt” carried out by a broken judiciary.
The Israeli PM is embroiled in four cases involving allegations of bribery and misconduct. He denies wrongdoing in every instance.
Case 1000 is an investigation into gifts received on a regular basis by Netanyahu and his family from two wealthy businessmen, including cigars and pink champagne.
Case 2000 is examining whether Netanyahu behaved improperly during a taped conversation with a newspaper publisher in which he appeared to try to negotiate more sympathetic coverage in return for lowering the circulation of a rival paper.
Case 3000 is an inquiry into alleged kickbacks in a deal to buy German submarines. Netanyahu is not a suspect, but he was closely involved in the deal and the case has ensnared members of his inner circle.
Case 4000, the most serious, involves allegations that Netanyahu offered incentives to the Israeli telecoms company Bezeq in exchange for positive stories in an online news website it owns, Walla.
Rochin, the Saar volunteer, said that while he supported Saar, he was “not against Bibi” and did not believe the charges levelled against him. But a new leadership was needed after “the justice system won over Bibi”.
Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving leader, has struggled this year to extend his 10-year consecutive run in high office after two elections produced muddied results in which none of the parties were able to form a governing coalition.
Polls show a third election, set for 2 March, could have a similar outcome.
At the polling booth in Jerusalem, David Amsalem, a Likud lawmaker, said he had voted for Netanyahu. While he respected Saar’s bid for leadership, he said the political crisis and potential threats to a decade of Likud government meant members should instead rally around their leader.
“This is not the right moment,” he said.
Netanyahu has talked up his international prowess, especially with other rightwing leaders such as Trump, and his security credentials. However, more bellicose political opponents have portrayed the prime minister as indecisive against militants in Gaza.
On Wednesday evening, Netanyahu was rushed off stage while campaigning in the southern city of Ashkelon after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip. It was the second time this year he has had to take shelter at an event, which his rivals have attempted to use as an example of his failed security policies.
“This situation in which Israeli citizens live at the mercy of terrorists and the prime minister of Israel is unable to tour parts of his country is a badge of shame on the security policy in the south,” his centrist rival Benny Gantz said in a statement.
