Itongadol.- Likud MK Reuven Rivlin and Hatnua MK Meir Sheetrit advanced to the second round of presidential elections on Tuesday.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein announced that in the first round former MK Dalia Itzik received 28 votes, former Supreme Court justice Dalia Dorner received 13 votes, Rivlin received 44 votes, Sheetrit received 31 votes, and Nobel Laureate Dan Shechtman received only one vote.
With no candidate receiving at least 61 votes, the second round between Rivlin and Sheetrit commenced on Tuesday afternoon.
The race remained wide open Monday, as dozens of MKs still did not know for whom they would vote and candidates continued to try to woo them.
Shas MKs were a target of the candidates\’ campaigns, as the party\’s Torah Sages Council granted them freedom to vote as they choose in the first round, a reflection of disunity in the party\’s ranks.
At least one undecided MK, Yesh Atid\’s Dov Lipman, joked that he didn\’t want to leave his office and walk through the halls, because he was being harangued and nagged about the race every few feet he walked.
Labor MKs Stav Shaffir and Moshe Mizrachi followed in the footsteps of many on the left and announced they would vote for Dorner.
Rivlin teared up during a speech to the Likud faction on Monday afternoon, saying "I was born in the [Likud forebear] Herut Party and I never left it for any temptation. Tomorrow may be my greatest hour, but it may be an important time for the whole party, in which one of its sons will become president of our country."
At the beginning of the faction meeting, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not mention the presidential race of his own volition, simply answering positively when asked by reporters if he wants to wish Rivlin good luck. Then, the two awkwardly shook hands.
When photographers asked if Netanyahu wants to express his support for the cameras, he said "I already did."
Sheetrit was also brought to tears, when he mentioned his daughter, Miri, who died of cancer. The anniversary of her death is on Tuesday.
Sheetrit, who is one of the top 10 wealthiest politicians according to Forbes Israel, released his finances in the Hatnua faction meeting after all of the other candidates did so on Monday, raising questions about whether he was hiding something.
The MK listed three apartments that are worth about NIS 4-5 million altogether, which he owns together with his wife. He also distributed his pay stub, which showed he earns NIS 23,123 a month.
However, Sheetrit did not detail property listed under his wife\’s company, Sheetrit Communications, which is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars, saying that he is not involved in managing those funds.
"Since I made aliyah from Morocco to a ma\’bara [transit camp for new immigrants], everything I did with my wife Ruti was with my own two hands and with hard work," he stated. "My 40 years of work speak for themselves; I am clean."