Pollsters say exit polls 'surprising' and 'unexpected'

Channel 13 pollster Camil Fuchs hinted on Channel 13 News that in his opinion, Monday night's exit poll “will be one of the most interesting we’ve ever had.”“It will be very interesting. We’re seeing things we hadn’t thought about,” Fuchs said, hinting that the polls in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party had a slight lead against Blue and White were less accurate than had been expected.This could mean one of two things: that Netanyahu look to be close to getting a 61-seat majority, or that just the opposite had happened, and Blue and White took back the lead.“We thought people were apathetic, that people wouldn’t come out to vote,” Fuchs said, explaining that the election-fatigue that pollsters and analysts were expecting had been blown out of proportion.As of 6 p.m., voter turnout stood at 56.3%, a 3% increase from the September elections and the highest turnout rate at that hour since the 1999 elections.Kan News pollster Dudi Hassid also indicated that Israelis are in store for a surprise when exit polls are published.“[We’re] seeing changes, we haven’t seen figures like this for a long time,” Hassid told Kan.