Sa'ar Rejects Haskel's Claims in Supreme Court Affidavit Over Comptroller Vote

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court rejecting claims made by MK Sharren Haskel, who alleged that the New Hope faction required her to document her vote during the Knesset elections for State Comptroller.

Sa'ar stated that "all of the petitioner's claims on this matter are not only baseless, they are also irrelevant and intended to create a media provocation." Regarding allegations that faction members were asked to photograph their ballots, Sa'ar wrote:

"This fact is not true. No such demand was directed by the Likud to the Knesset members of New Hope. When rumors broke out in the Knesset that some members intended to photograph their vote, the party chairman clarified that faction members were not to photograph themselves."

Haskel provided testimony today at the Lahav 433 offices in Lod. Investigators are working to determine whether the instructions to document the vote originated from the Likud or within New Hope. The police are seeking to expand the investigation and summon Likud MKs, a step requiring the approval of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

It was previously revealed that Haskel was summoned at the Attorney General's initiative to determine if a false affidavit was submitted to the Supreme Court regarding alleged instructions from Benjamin Netanyahu to document the vote. Haskel maintains that faction members were required to present proof of their voting to the Prime Minister. The Likud has repeatedly denied these claims, asserting that any photos taken were the result of personal initiative by individual MKs.

Last month, the Supreme Court disqualified the State Comptroller elections due to violations of voting secrecy and ordered a re-vote, the timing of which remains uncertain.