Over 3.5 million Israelis exercised their right to vote in the local elections across the country Tuesday, with the Interior Ministry pegging voter turnout at 57%, up from 51% in the previous local elections in 2013.
The ministry attributed the rise in voter turnout to the fact that for the first time, Israelis were given an official day off to vote.
Voters were asked to cast two ballots: one for mayor – a five-year term – and the second for the party they want on their city council.
Some 703 hopefuls – 665 men and 58 women –participated in Tuesday's elections. Several major cities were headed for a runoff as no candidate was able to secure the 40% required to win.
The second round has been set for Nov. 13.
All eyes on Tuesday were on Jerusalem, where the mayoral race proved too close to call.
Jerusalem City Councilmen Moshe Lion and Ofer Berkovitch will face off again in two weeks, after Lion won 33% of the votes and Berkovitch won 29%.
The results dealt a somewhat shocking defeat to Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin (Likud), who had been endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was considered the front-runner in the race.
Elkin won only 20% of the votes, while ultra-Orthodox candidate Yossi Deitch received 17%.
Lion was endorsed by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism. Berkovitch was backed by Jerusalem's secular voters and campaigned for a more "tolerant Jerusalem." Pollsters said he garnered a surprising level of support from many religious voters.
Perhaps the most prominent political upset was noted in Haifa, where Einat Kalisch-Rotem made history by defeating long-serving incumbent Yona Yahav to become the first woman elected to head Israel's third-largest city.
She won 55% of the votes, while Yahav, who has been in office since 2003, won 37%.
Kalisch-Rotem, who faced off against Yahav in court after he tried to have her disqualified from the race, was endorsed by Labor leader Avi Gabbay, and surprisingly received the support of many of the city's haredi voters.
"This was a huge victory for Haifa," Gabbay said. "Einat proved that with hard work and determination, the polls can be defeated. Good luck to our mayor and to all residents of Haifa."
A visibly emotional Kalisch-Rotem said, "Haifa's public voted for a new era."
Yahav said he respected the voters' decision.
"It was a great honor to lead this beautiful city. This is my life's work and I pray that the new leadership will know how to preserve what was accomplished here over the past 15 years," he said.
In Tel Aviv, polls predicting incumbent Mayor Ron Huldai would lose to his deputy, Assaf Zamir, proved wrong, as Huldai won 46% of the votes and secured a fifth term in office.
Zamir won 34% of the votes, while the third candidate, comedian-turned-politician Asaf Harel, won 12%.
"I thank the residents of Tel Aviv for their trust and the great team [of campaign activists]. They did a wonderful job. Now, we're going to get back to work. We have many more things to do for the people of Tel Aviv," Huldai said Wednesday.
The tumultuous mayoral race was not without its sore losers.
Outgoing Nahariya Mayor Jacky Sabag, who was unseated after 30 years in office by Ronen Marly, said he had "reached the conclusion that most residents of Nahriya are ingrates."
In addition to Jerusalem, several other cities are also facing runoffs, including the southern resort city of Eilat, the central cities of Bat Yam, Hod Hasharon, Yehud, Kfar Saba, Rishon Lezion and Raanana, and the northern city of Safed.
