Jerusalem City Councilman Moshe Lion narrowly defeated his opponent, fellow councilman Ofer Berkovitch, in the second round of municipal elections for the Jerusalem mayoralty on Tuesday. Lion won 51.5% of the votes against Berkovitch's 48.5%.
The two went head to head again after neither succeeded in clinching the minimum 40% of the vote needed in the first round of voting on Oct. 30.
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."
While the votes of IDF soldiers have yet to tallied, they are not expected to impact the outcome of the race.
Speaking at a victory celebration in the capital, Lion said, "Tonight, Jerusalem chose what unites us, what unifies us and brings us together. I, God willing, intend to be the mayor of all the residents of Jerusalem, those who voted for me and those who didn't."
He thanked outgoing Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat for "dedicating 10 years of his life to the city. Complex challenges await us in this special, complicated and amazing city."
However, Berkovitch did not accept his defeat, saying, "Secular, religious, everyone won. All of Jerusalem won. No one will take this victory from you. ... I am very excited, and it is true that the results are not good right now. I genuinely believe in what we did today. We sent the foundations for a new Israeli hope. There are quite a few irregularities and the soldiers' votes. We will examine the results in depth."
Among those who congratulated Lion on his victory were Barkat, who said he wished Lion and the city "great success" and the he would help in any way he can to make Lion's entrance into the office as smooth and as fast as possible "to preserve the momentum of our Jerusalem the home of all populations: secular, national religious, haredi and Arab. Good luck, Moshe, good luck Jerusalem!"
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri also spoke to Lion by phone to congratulate him on his win.
Elections were also held a number of other municipalities, including Ramat Gan, where former Likud MK and Israeli envoy to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Carmel Shama Hacohen defeated incumbent Yisrael Zinger, Rishon Lezion, Kfar Saba, Raanana, Hod Hasharon, Rosh Haayin, Safed and Kiryat Shmona.
