Likud Court Investigates: Was Netanyahu's Vote Forged?
The Likud chairman appeared in voter records as having voted, despite not participating at any polling station. During the election, Likud central committee members approved allowing incumbent ministers and MKs to run in districts. Numerous petitions alleging irregularities have been filed. A Likud spokesperson stated that Netanyahu voted via a ballot box brought to him personally.
During the hearing on petitions against the results of the Likud central committee elections, the court was required to investigate a serious allegation: that the vote of party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu was forged. In practice, Netanyahu did not participate in the voting that took place last Monday at polling stations across the country, yet the official results stated that he had voted.
The Likud spokesperson stated that the vote was not forged and that a ballot box was brought to Netanyahu personally. One of the petitioners presented an official document from the Central Elections Committee (an Excel table) indicating that Netanyahu participated in the election, even though he did not physically take part at the polling stations. This document was submitted as part of the ongoing discussion at Metzudat Ze'ev in Tel Aviv.
It should be noted that one of the votes passed by a narrow margin. Initially, the protocol stated the proposal passed by five votes (1,678 in favor of the Netanyahu and Katz proposal versus 1,673 against), but after the protocol reached the court, it turned out the difference was only two votes.
Likud central committee members had previously approved the proposal by Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Katz to grant the Prime Minister eight reserved spots on the party's Knesset list and to amend the primaries regulations. However, Katz's initiative, supported by Netanyahu, to allow incumbent ministers and Knesset members to run in the districts, was approved by a margin of only two votes.
Following the publication of the results, many petitions were filed alleging irregularities, forgeries, and the removal of observers from polling stations. In response, the president of the Likud court, MK Michael Kleiner, appointed an expanded panel of five judges, including lawyers Akiva Nof, Yitzhak Bam, Rafi Booker, and David Elbaz.
MK David Bitan, one of the petitioners, claimed that polling station workers received instructions from Likud officials not to record comments and reservations in the protocol, in violation of election regulations and the law. He cited examples of polling stations where, according to him, valid votes against the Netanyahu and Katz proposal were counted as invalid, while invalid votes for the proposal were apparently counted as valid.
