Poll: Gap between Huldai, Zamir narrows to 3.5%
Mayor has advantage among definite voters while deputy has more support among the undecided
The battle for Tel Aviv mayor is an increasingly close one, as the gap between Mayor Ron Huldai and his deputy Asaf Zamir has narrowed even further, according to a poll conducted for Maariv’s local magazine Hamekoman, published on Thursday.
Just five days before the local elections, the poll, which was conducted by Panels Politics Internet Panel Surveys, found that in response to the question “who will get your vote for mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa?” 27.6% selected Huldai (Tel Aviv 1) and 23.9% chose Zamir (Rov Ha’ir), followed by 10.1% for Assaf Harel (Anachnu Ha’ir).
Of those who are certain they will vote, 33.6% will opt for Huldai, as well as 17.3% of those who are undecided if they will vote. Some 26.8% of definite voters will choose Zamir, as well as 18.8% of the undecided. Meanwhile, Harel got 11.5% of support from definite voters and 7.9% from the undecided.
The fourth most popular candidate, deputy mayor Natan Elnatan (Shas), received 5.6% of the backing of all respondents, among them 5.2% who will definitely vote and 6.3% who aren’t sure.
About a third of all respondents (32.8%) have yet to decide for whom to vote. Some 22.9% are sure they will vote, and among those who are unsure it is 49.7%.
Additionally, 56.4% of all respondents said they are sure they will vote and 24.4% said they probably will, while 11.5% said they probably won’t and 7.8% said they definitely won’t.
If neither candidate gets at least 40% of the vote, a second round will be held. The poll also asked respondents about this scenario: “If there will be a second round of mayoral elections between Ron Huldai and Asaf Zamir, who will you vote for?”
Zamir would win with 33.6% of the vote of all respondents, with Huldai behind with 32%. That, however, depends on how many of the undecided actually vote, because Huldai got 38% of the support of those who will definitely vote and 22.5% of the undecided, while Zamir got 35.9% of the decided and 30% of the undecided.
The poll was conducted over the Internet between October 19 and 22. Some 512 respondents, representing a sample of the residents of the city aged 17 and over, participated in the poll. The margin of error is 4.4 ±%.
Hamekoman quoted CEO of Panels Politics Menachem Lazar as saying: “The bottom line is that in order for Zamir to win, he needs to get as many voters as possible out of the house, while for Huldai it’s preferable that as few as possible vote.”