Central Elections Committee Director General Adv. Dean Livne said Monday that no arrest of draft evaders will be carried out on election day, in response to concerns among some ultra-Orthodox voters that they could be detained if they go to vote. At a committee meeting attended by Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg and representatives of the various parties, Livne said the goal was to prevent any group of voters from being discouraged from reaching the polls and exercising their right to vote.
During the same session, the committee briefed party representatives on its election preparations. MK Amit Halevi of Likud renewed a request he had also raised earlier in the Knesset Constitution Committee, saying his party wants cameras installed in the polling-station compound, but not inside the station itself, in addition to the body camera worn by the observer on site. Livne said the committee opposes the idea on professional grounds.
Livne also warned of a manpower shortage, saying the main challenge is recruiting quality staff for one of the public sector’s most demanding jobs. He said the work requires full commitment over the summer, in August, on Fridays, and during the holidays, and added that youth participation has dropped sharply. He said the election budget originally stood at 81.3 million shekels, but actual cash spending so far is only 53 million shekels, including payments for commitments from previous years. He said more appropriate funding would allow stronger incentives and better staffing.
The article also noted that the law to dissolve the Knesset passed its preliminary reading on May 20 and first reading on June 2. The next step is setting a final election date, with October 20 currently emerging as the likely option, followed by committee approval and second and third readings. Coalition leaders are expected to meet Tuesday evening amid disputes over ultra-Orthodox demands, including possible legislation to freeze arrests for Torah students, the stalled Basic Law on Torah study, and the Haredi push for a housing bill. Some in Likud and Religious Zionism favor moving straight to dissolution rather than advancing controversial Haredi legislation, while others want to pass the attorney general split bill as a final right-wing achievement. The current summer session is set to end on July 17, the last possible date to complete dissolution under the present schedule.
