Knesset Rejects Supreme Court Proposal for a New Vote on State Comptroller

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announced on Sunday that the Knesset is rejecting the Supreme Court’s proposal to repeat the election for state comptroller, saying, “The Knesset has already had its say.” The reply was sent formally to the High Court of Justice after it floated a compromise over the weekend.

The court had suggested that lawmakers hold the election again to remove the cloud hanging over the current process. Deputy President Justice Noam Sohlberg said the panel was considering a show-cause order over concerns that the secrecy of the vote had been violated. In court he said, “We are proposing a procedural remedy that does not interfere with the Knesset’s discretion, do it again. Whatever you decide is fine, as long as the process is clean and proper.”

Sohlberg added that the planned order would address secrecy, not the conflict-of-interest claim, and said some votes were problematic because MKs acted against the Knesset legal adviser’s instructions and effectively created a new rule allowing filming. The court gave the sides a very short deadline and said it would wait for responses until Sunday. With the Knesset now rejecting the idea, the legal fight over the election of attorney Michael Ravillo is set to continue.

The petitions, filed by the Movement for Quality Government, the Israel Bar Association, the Yesh Atid and Blue and White factions, and retired Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron, argue that coalition lawmakers seriously breached ballot secrecy in the second vote in the Knesset by filming their ballots behind the booth to prove they had voted for Ravillo. The petitions also raise a conflict-of-interest issue involving Ravillo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to Ravillo’s past professional ties to him. Ravillo has denied the allegations, called the vote lawful, and said any possible conflict will be handled through a detailed public recusal arrangement.