Israel may go without a state comptroller for up to six months

Israel could be left without a state comptroller until after the election, a gap of about six months. On Thursday, the High Court of Justice indicated that Michael Ravivo’s selection as state comptroller was flawed, in part because Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana allowed lawmakers to document their votes. The judges suggested that the Knesset hold a new vote, this time without members bringing phones into the ballot booth.

Several senior Likud figures, including Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Knesset Finance Committee chair Hanoch Milwidsky, have already called for ignoring the court. Ohana did not respond, but there is a strong possibility he will reject a repeat vote in order to create a confrontation with the court before the primaries. Likud officials fear that if another vote is held, the ultra-Orthodox parties, angered by the failure to pass the daycare subsidies law, may no longer back Ravivo, who is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer. Another possibility is that those parties will use their leverage to advance the exemption-from-service and daycare bills they want. Ravivo could also withdraw his candidacy.

Outgoing comptroller Matanyahu Englman’s term ends at the end of June. If no comptroller is chosen by July 1, the State Control Committee may appoint an acting comptroller, but that too requires a Knesset majority. Seven petitions were filed against Ravivo’s election, demanding a fresh vote. The petitioners argued that Likud lawmakers were instructed to film their ballots, that photographing a vote is illegal, and that choosing the prime minister’s lawyer is unreasonable because of his broad conflicts of interest.

At Thursday’s preliminary hearing, ahead of a possible order nisi, Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg said, “Some of the votes were problematic. The Knesset members acted contrary to the legal adviser’s instructions and created a new rule.” He proposed a new, clean and proper vote, and warned that if the request is ignored, the panel intends to issue an order nisi because the secrecy of the vote was harmed. The hearing also touched on the wider question of whether voters in the upcoming Knesset election will be allowed to document their ballots. Sohlberg, who also chairs the Central Elections Committee, will need to issue guidance on that issue. Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz said, “It is possible that the rule we create will apply to the Knesset elections.” Blue and White attorney Eran Grinberg warned that if the court says voters have the right to document their vote, “a very large documentation industry” could emerge and “vote brokers in primaries will have more power because they will be able to prove they delivered votes.”