Likud Court Rejects Minister Gamliel's Challenge on Primary Results

The Likud party's internal court has dismissed petitions filed by Minister Gila Gamliel challenging the results of the party's primary elections. The ruling means MK Etty Attia will be placed in the 20th position on the Likud's Knesset list, while Gamliel will be placed 25th. This decision concludes a prolonged dispute between the two politicians, which involved a recount, allegations of irregularities, and appeals to the party's internal judicial bodies.

The dispute centered on two ballot boxes in Be'er Ya'akov where unusual results were recorded after the primaries. In one box, candidates Miri Regev and Sasson Guetta reportedly received 260 votes each, despite only 240 valid votes being cast. Following this anomaly, the CEO of the company managing the elections opened one of the ballot boxes, leading to a recount in both boxes.

The recount yielded significantly different results. In one box, Gamliel's vote count dropped from 193 to 59, while Attia's increased from 12 to 107. In the second box, Gamliel's votes fell from 240 to 56, and Attia's rose from 7 to 100. Gamliel contested these new results, filing two petitions. Her primary argument was that the ballot box was opened without official approval from the election committee, compromising the chain of custody and invalidating the subsequent count.

The court acknowledged a "significant flaw" in the way the ballot box was opened but ultimately ruled that the evidence, including surveillance footage of the storage area and testimony, did not warrant disqualifying the recount. A minority opinion argued that the unauthorized opening created a substantial issue. The majority, however, prioritized validating the votes of hundreds of party members over invalidating the recount.

The ruling has direct implications for the Knesset list. With the withdrawal of MK Tali Gottlieb, the winner of the Gamliel-Attia contest is promoted to the 20th spot, and the loser to the 25th. The court also instructed the Likud leadership and election committee to adhere to regulations concerning the advancement of women's representation on the list.