The High Court of Justice heard petitions seeking to cancel the vote that elected attorney Michaël Ravivo as state comptroller, amid claims that Likud lawmakers were told to document their ballots. Petitioners also want the appointment voided because Ravivo serves as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyer. Knesset legal adviser Shגית אפיק defended the election, saying there is no evidence that lawmakers were instructed to record their votes, while Ravivo said he is legally allowed to serve under the conflict-of-interest arrangement.
The rival candidate, retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron, filed a short position asking the court to intervene and annul the vote that gave Ravivo the job. The hearing was livestreamed and expected to run long because of the large number of petitioners, even though the court is dealing with two relatively narrow issues.
The first issue is whether there is proof that MKs were directed to document how they voted. The article says the available material is limited to a very small number of press reports, which would not be admissible as evidence in legal terms. The second issue is whether Ravivo’s role as Netanyahu’s private attorney, through the law office of Netanyahu’s cousin David Shimron, disqualifies him from overseeing the man who had recently been a major client and close associate.
Ravivo was elected in secret ballots in the Knesset plenum about a week and a half earlier. In the first round, Elron led 60 to 57, but neither candidate reached the required 61 votes, forcing a second round. In that vote, Ravivo won 61 to 57 and secured the post. During the second round, opposition lawmakers alleged that Likud members were instructed to take a selfie with their ballot behind the curtain to prove loyalty, undermining ballot secrecy. Some MKs, including Shlomo Karhi and Hanoch Milwidsky, later published photos with a ballot marked for Ravivo, saying no one forced them and that they did it on their own.
