Israel's Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Disqualify Far-Right Party

Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday rejected a petition by the Democratic Party seeking to disqualify the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, along with its leader Itamar Ben-Gvir and another candidate, from running in the upcoming elections. The petition was filed after the Central Elections Committee had already dismissed a similar request from the party.

Justice Ofer Groskopf ruled that the Democratic Party did not meet the legal requirements for filing such a petition. He explained that Israeli law permits only one-third of the Central Elections Committee members to request a candidate's disqualification and subsequently appeal a denial. As the Democratic Party did not fulfill this condition, it could not utilize the legal appeal process to disqualify Otzma Yehudit, Ben-Gvir, and the other candidate.

The Democratic Party argued that the Supreme Court should still consider their case using its "residual authority," which allows it to grant any remedy deemed appropriate, even if legal procedures were not fully met. However, Justice Groskopf dismissed this argument as well.

In his decision, Groskopf referenced a similar ruling from the previous week, where the court rejected a petition against the same party filed by the Zulat organization. He stated that while standard legislation cannot limit the Supreme Court's authority, which is rooted in the Basic Law: Judiciary, the existing legal framework imposes a significant burden on petitioners seeking to bypass established procedures. Groskopf emphasized that in this specific case, it was undisputed that the Democratic Party failed to meet the legal prerequisites.

Consequently, Otzma Yehudit, Ben-Gvir, and the candidate will not be disqualified from participating in the upcoming elections as a result of this legal challenge initiated by the Democratic Party.