Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik is asking the High Court of Justice to throw out seven petitions seeking to void the election of attorney Michael Rabilo as state comptroller and rerun the vote in the Knesset plenum. The petitions argue there is evidence Likud lawmakers were instructed to record their votes and that the court should intervene in what they describe as an improper election.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman is due to finish his term at the end of the month. The election was held on June 3. In the first round, retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron received 60 votes, while Rabilo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, got 57. Because no candidate reached the required 61 votes, a second round was held on a simple majority basis, and Rabilo won 61 votes to Elron’s 57.
Seven petitions were filed against the result, by attorney Yehuda Ressel, the Movement for Quality Government, the Blue and White faction, MK Karin Elharrar and Yesh Atid, the Israelis and Brothers in Arms associations, the Israel Bar Association, and MK Naama Lazimi of The Democrats. They contend Likud lawmakers were told to photograph their ballots, that photographing a vote is unlawful, and that choosing Netanyahu’s lawyer is unreasonable.
In the response filed for the Knesset by attorney Yitzhak Bart, the legal adviser said that if an instruction to document votes was indeed given, it would be “a very serious act” that could affect the validity of the election. But she argued there is no substantial evidence that any such instruction, demand, or request was actually issued, and the people alleged to have done so denied it. She also said the fact that several lawmakers photographed their votes does not prove a directive existed.
Bart added that there is no clear legal ban on documenting one’s ballot in national or local elections, and therefore no basis to invalidate the Knesset vote. Even if the court finds some defect, he argued, annulment would still be unwarranted because the High Court’s room to intervene in Knesset proceedings is very limited. He also rejected claims of a conflict of interest, saying Rabilo’s ties to Netanyahu were known to everyone.
