Deputy Foreign Minister Admits Lawmakers Were Told to Film Their Secret Ballots

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel acknowledged that coalition lawmakers were asked to enter the voting booth and film themselves while voting in the Knesset election for state comptroller. In an interview on Friday at a "Shabtarbut" event in Kiryat Ono with Lior Kenan, Haskel said, "Sadly, in a shameful way, lawmakers were required, like in undemocratic regimes, to go in and film behind the curtain to prove how they voted." She said the instruction existed and called it "shameful" and "not proper."

Haskel added that the move "lowers the standing of the Knesset" and diminishes the role of MKs. Asked whether a directive had been given, she replied, "Yes." She said there is room to challenge the matter in court and predicted a repeat vote if the legal evidence reaches the judges. "I think we will need to reach a revote," she said.

The comments come amid the uproar over the Knesset vote that elected attorney Michael Ravilo as state comptroller. Ravilo, who serves as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyer, won after a second-round upset against retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron, who had led in the first round. During the second round, coalition lawmakers began filming themselves voting for Ravilo, which triggered opposition anger and a disturbance in the plenum.

The vote was halted for consultation and later resumed, but some coalition MKs continued entering the booth with phones and filming their ballots, allegedly because they were told to do so. That led to claims that the ballot had been tainted. The opposition has demanded a criminal investigation and annulment of the vote, and some lawmakers have petitioned the High Court of Justice for fresh elections.