Likud Court Investigates Allegations of Forged Netanyahu Vote in Party Elections

The Likud party's internal court is currently examining petitions challenging the results of the recent Likud Central Committee elections, including a rare claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vote was forged. According to reports, Netanyahu did not actually vote in the elections held last Monday at polling stations across Israel, yet official results indicated that he had participated. The court is investigating this discrepancy.

The Likud spokesperson denied the forgery allegations, stating that Netanyahu was personally brought a ballot box to vote. During the hearing at the Metzudat Ze'ev courthouse in Tel Aviv, one petitioner presented an official Likud Central Election Committee document showing an Excel table listing Netanyahu as a voter, despite his alleged absence from the polling stations.

The court is also reviewing other election irregularities. One key vote on a proposal by Netanyahu and Israel Katz initially recorded a narrow five-vote margin (1,678 to 1,673), but the full protocol later revealed the margin was only two votes. The proposal grants Netanyahu eight reserved slots on the party's Knesset list and changes the primary election rules. Another closely decided measure allowing ministers and sitting MKs to run in specific districts passed by just two votes.

Following the election results, numerous petitions were filed alleging irregularities, vote tampering, and the removal of observers from polling stations. Due to the significance of these claims, Likud's court president Michael Kleiner appointed an expanded panel of five judges, including lawyers Akiva Nof, Yitzhak Bam, Rafi Boker, and David Elbaz, to review over ten petitions.

Among the petitioners is MK David Bitan, who accused Likud election committee workers of being instructed not to record objections or remarks in the protocols, violating election regulations. He also claimed that in some polling stations, valid votes opposing Netanyahu and Katz's proposal were invalidated, while invalid votes supporting it were counted as valid.

The court's investigation continues amid heightened scrutiny of the party's internal election integrity.