Supreme Court Sends Election Committee Dispute to Full Panel

Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that the full Central Elections Committee, not just its chairman, will decide on a contentious issue brought before it by the Likud party. The decision came after the parties involved agreed to the court's recommendation during a hearing on Thursday.

The case originated from a petition by attorney Shahar Ben Meir, which was subsequently taken up by the Likud party. The court has directed that Ben Meir's petition be transferred to the plenum of the Central Elections Committee for a decision.

Under the court's expedited timeline, the Central Elections Committee must render its decision by Sunday, September 6, at 5:00 PM. Following this decision, the parties will update the Supreme Court. The chairman's previous rulings on the matter will now serve only as legal opinions, not final determinations.

The Supreme Court has scheduled a follow-up hearing for Wednesday, September 9, at 8:00 AM. To streamline the process due to the urgent timeline, the hearing will proceed as if a conditional order had already been issued in the petition.

The panel of judges, including Yael Vilner, Alex Stein, and Khaled Kabub, formalized the parties' agreement into a court order. They emphasized that all arguments from the parties are preserved for both the committee's deliberations and any subsequent court proceedings. The Likud's petition lists several respondents, including the Central Elections Committee chairman, the committee itself, attorney Shahar Ben Meir, and various political parties such as Yesh Atid, Blue and White, Labor, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and the party led by Eisenkot, as well as the Attorney General and the Privacy Protection Authority.