Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to hold Likud primaries, according to a report on Kan News, while assuming he can secure between 8 and 10 reserved spots on the party list for the Knesset. His plan has not yet been approved by fellow Likud lawmaker and Economic Affairs Committee chair David Bitan.
Bitan said in an interview on Kan Reshet Bet’s "Kalman Liberman" program that Netanyahu had told people he wanted a appointing committee, a major change for Likud. "It contradicts the democratic principle in Likud," Bitan said, adding that the party’s center would likely not approve Netanyahu’s request. He argued that Likud should oppose any move that weakens its internal democracy, saying that the party’s members, ministers and Knesset members function "as one family" and that democracy is essential to the party’s vitality.
Bitan also referred to a petition he filed yesterday against changing the system only one month before the planned primary date. The petition said tens of thousands of party members cannot be stripped of their right to choose their representatives to the Knesset so close to the vote, and accused the move of being a constitutional “blitz” that violates members’ rights to elect and be elected, as well as Likud’s constitution and previous court rulings.
In the same interview, Bitan addressed the uproar in the Knesset plenum during the second round of voting for state comptroller, when Likud lawmakers were instructed to photograph their ballots behind the curtain. He rejected claims of coercion and said those who filmed their vote did so to assert their right. He also said it was already clear they would back candidate Michael Ravilo. Responding to criticism that Ravilo had once represented Netanyahu, Bitan said that judges do not recuse themselves merely because they know a party or lawyer, and added that Ravilo was the only candidate, so the vote was not a matter of comparing alternatives.
