Israel's Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Knesset Speaker Over State Comptroller Election

Israel's Supreme Court, known as Bagatz, has rejected a lawsuit filed by Yaron Gadot that demanded a new round of voting for the State Comptroller. The three-judge panel, headed by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit and including Justices Haled Kabub and Ruth Ronen, reviewed Gadot's petition. Gadot sought to compel the Speaker of the Knesset to schedule a second voting round to elect the State Comptroller from two candidates who ran in the 25th Knesset elections. The lawsuit was based on a previous Bagatz ruling that ordered the cancellation of a prior second round and mandated a new vote. Gadot argued that the Knesset Speaker had failed to schedule the repeat vote, thus defying the court's order. Sagitt Afik, the Knesset's legal advisor, acknowledged the validity of Gadot's claims but cited difficulties in meeting the court's deadline before the elections. The court noted that despite the previous ruling, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana had not scheduled the second round, contrary to the legal advisor's repeated advice. Bagatz stated that the prolonged refusal to comply with the court's order constituted a serious violation of public administration and the state's foundational principles. However, the court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit due to changed circumstances, specifically the election of the 26th Knesset on October 27th, which complicated the implementation of the earlier ruling. Nevertheless, acknowledging the Speaker's defiance of the court's order, he was ordered to pay the plaintiff 10,000 shekels in legal costs.