Polls close in Israeli parliamentary elections as turnout nears 75%

Polling stations closed in Israel's parliamentary elections Tuesday evening, with voter turnout approaching 75%, according to Israeli election authorities and local media.

Voting in the Knesset elections ended at 10 pm local time (2000GMT), with ballot counting beginning shortly afterward, Israeli media reported.

The Central Elections Committee earlier reported that voter turnout had reached 74.3% as of 8 pm local time (1800GMT).

According to the committee, 5,449,277 people had cast their ballots out of 7,331,981 eligible voters.