Elections are held in Haifa to elect the city's mayor. Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to elect mayors to five-year terms.

Prior to 1978, mayors were selected by a vote of the city council. Since 1978, direct elections have been held for mayor.

The 1978 Haifa mayoral election was held on 7 November 1978, and saw the election Aryeh Gur'el.

The 1983 Haifa mayoral election was held on 25 October 1983, and saw the reelection Aryeh Gur'el.

Gur'el's strongest opponent was Yael Rom, a pioneering female pilot in the Israeli Air Force. While she was a member of Likud, Rom ran for mayor in affiliation with an independent party list that was running in the coinciding city council elections.

The 1989 Haifa mayoral election was held on 28 February 1989, and saw the reelection Aryeh Gur'el to a third consecutive term.

The 1993 Haifa mayoral election was held on 2 November 1993, and saw the election of Amram Mitzna.

In the primary election for the Israeli Labor Party nomination, third-term incumbent mayor Aryeh Gur'el was defeated by challenger Amram Mitzna.