Polls apart

Regarding “Israelis abroad lament lack of absentee vote” (April 3), one can agree to some extent with overseas Israelis wanting to vote, but some have set themselves up in business and would appear not to want to return to Israel and should not be entitled to vote. This brings to mind many citizens living in Israel who cannot get out to vote, e.g. those in hospital for a long time, or are housebound, or have mobility problems. There will be many polling stations that are not accessible for such people. My polling station is one of them, which means that I cannot get to the polling room. One solution is to have postal voting, which has been the norm in the UK for decades. Surely it is not too difficult to introduce this in Israel.

Regarding “Think tanks, NGOs advocate for open primaries on election day,” this is only tinkering with the existing failed system. What is needed is for all MKs to be directly elected in constituencies. As this is unlikely to happen, maybe initially a half-way system would be acceptable, i.e. half the Knesset elected in constituencies and the other half, as now, by parties. This, together with an increase in the threshold to 5%, should ensure a more stable government.

I shudder to think that this election will result in a coalition of at least five parties and could even be six or seven, with each of the smaller ones having enormous power far beyond their size, leading to exorbitant demands. DANNY LEVITT Netanya