After Netanyahu's narrow victory: First petition against changes in Likud

A day after all of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposals were approved at the party convention, the struggle against changing the primary system is moving to the Likud party court. This morning, Tuesday, attorney Yair Gabai filed a petition against the clause allowing incumbent ministers and Knesset members to run in the district slots, arguing that it harms equality between them and the new candidates.

The controversial clause was approved by a very narrow margin of only six votes: 1,679 of the convention members supported it, 1,673 opposed it, and 23 abstained. Due to the tiny gap and the controversy that arose around the vote, Gabai's petition is expected to be the first in a series of petitions that will be filed against the results.

As part of the changes approved at the convention, the primary system was changed, the number of reserved spots granted to Netanyahu was expanded, and the proposal of Minister Haim Katz was approved, which exceptionally allows incumbent ministers and Knesset members to run in the district slots. In these slots, the threshold of votes required for election is significantly lower than that required in the national list.

The vote turned into a political confrontation between the Netanyahu camp and the camp identified with MK David Bitan, who opposed some of the changes. During the vote count in Jerusalem, there were even clashes between the supporters of the camps, and the Bitan camp demanded a recount in light of the tiny gap.

At the same time, serious allegations of fraud in the internal elections and an attempt to approve the results in a rush are being heard in Likud. Former Knesset member Shevah Stern claimed that the Likud's central election committee was asked to convene tonight on Zoom and approve the voting results and the election regulations - contrary to its authority.

"They want to pull a fast one before there is a petition in the court," claimed Stern. According to him, another member of the election committee called him and asked him to approve the results: "I told him that it is not within our authority. We never managed the votes in the center or at the convention, and no such right was granted to us in the constitution. I oppose discussing this in the committee and we have no authority to convene on this matter."