Knesset Speaker tells Supreme Court he will not hold a new vote for state comptroller

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Likud told the High Court of Justice on Sunday that he has no intention of holding a repeat vote for Israel’s state comptroller. His response came after the court suggested on Thursday that the Knesset conduct another ballot, following petitions challenging the legitimacy of the second-round vote.

The petitions focused on allegations that the vote was not secret. Several Likud lawmakers, including Shlomo Karhi and Hanoch Milwidsky, filmed themselves voting for Eli Rabillo in the second round, in which he defeated retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron. The court is now expected to consider issuing an order nisi requiring Ohana to hold the vote.

If that happens, the key question will be whether Ohana complies or argues that the Knesset’s independence bars judicial intervention. A similar confrontation occurred in March 2020, when then-Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, also of Likud, refused to convene the plenum to choose his successor. Edelstein later resigned, and veteran lawmaker Amir Peretz chaired the session instead.

A refusal by Ohana to carry out another vote could trigger a constitutional crisis, and he could also gain popularity among Likud voters ahead of the party primaries expected at the end of July 2026. If a revote does take place, the ultra-Orthodox parties are expected to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advance religious legislation in return for their support, including the Law of Torah Study as a Basic Law, the daycare subsidies bill, and a temporary order freezing arrests of yeshiva students who did not report for military service.