Supreme Court Rebukes Knesset Speaker Over State Comptroller Election
The Supreme Court sharply rebuked Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Tuesday for failing to rerun the State Comptroller election, ordering him to pay 10,000 shekels in costs despite dismissing the petition due to the recent elections.
The Supreme Court issued a sharp rebuke on Tuesday against Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana for failing to implement a ruling ordering a rerun of the second round of the State Comptroller election. The justices stated that prolonged non-compliance with a judicial decision constitutes a severe blow to the rule of law and governance principles. Although the petition against Ohana was dismissed due to the elections for the 26th Knesset, he was ordered to pay 10,000 shekels in legal costs.
The petition, filed by Yaron Gadot, sought to compel the Knesset Speaker to set a date for a revote in the State Comptroller election and convene the parliament for that purpose. This followed a July ruling in which the High Court of Justice ordered the cancellation of the second voting round and mandated its repetition.
Despite the ruling, Ohana did not schedule the revote. Justices Isaac Amit, Khaled Kabub, and Ruth Ronen noted that this action ran counter to the position of the Knesset Legal Advisor, who repeatedly advised the Speaker. In her response to the petition, the Legal Advisor endorsed the principle of holding the vote while pointing out potential implementation hurdles.
The court emphasized that refusing to execute the ruling amounts to a breach, severely harming state order. However, the petition was dismissed because the 26th Knesset elections were held on October 27, making it impractical to conduct a vote intended for the previous parliament. Despite dismissing the petition, the court imposed 10,000 shekels in costs on Ohana.
The verdict leaves open the question of how the State Comptroller election will proceed in the new parliament. Key unresolved issues include whether to resume directly with the second round between the original two candidates, requiring a simple majority, or to reopen the entire nomination process for new candidates.
These questions carry significant political weight amid shifting parliamentary dynamics. Reports indicate that the change bloc is leaning toward advancing the Comptroller election, with retired Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron—who competed against Michael Rabello in the previous vote—emerging as a prominent candidate for the position.
