Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Sunday declined a High Court of Justice proposal to hold a repeat election for state comptroller, according to a notice filed on the Knesset’s behalf.
The notice said the proposal, raised by the court at the end of Thursday’s hearing on petitions against attorney Michael Rabello’s election, had been conveyed to Ohana. It added that he decided not to hold another vote, citing the arguments made in the Knesset’s preliminary response and during the hearing.
“The Knesset has already had its say,” Ohana wrote on X/Twitter.
Justices to decide on intervention
The decision returns the matter to the High Court panel of Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg and Justices Gila Canfy-Steinitz and Ruth Ronnen.
At Thursday’s hearing, the justices proposed that the Knesset repeat the vote as a way of resolving the petitions without a judicial ruling invalidating the original election. Sohlberg said that should the proposal be declined, the court intended to issue a conditional order focused on whether the secrecy of the ballot had been compromised.
Such an order would require the respondents to explain why the election should not be canceled. It would not, in itself, invalidate the result.
The petitions challenge Rabello’s June 3 election to replace State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman. Rabello, a longtime lawyer for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defeated retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron in a second round of voting.
Rabello wins final vote
In the first round, Elron received 60 votes, and Rabello received 57, leaving both candidates one vote short of the 61 required for election. A second round was halted and restarted amid controversy over several coalition MKs documenting their votes behind the curtain.
Rabello then won the final vote by 61-57.
The petitioners argue that the legally required secret ballot was compromised when MKs photographed or filmed their ballots. They contend that the practice created political pressure by requiring lawmakers to prove how they voted.
The Knesset and Likud have disputed that there was evidence of an instruction directing MKs to document their ballots. Their representatives argued at Thursday’s hearing that the petitioners had not established that such a directive was given.
The court’s questions focused largely on whether the recorded ballots were compatible with the secrecy required under Basic Law: The State Comptroller. Sohlberg said that an “undesirable cloud” and a “bitter taste” hung over the process, and described some of the ballots as problematic.
Repeat vote 'simplest and cleanest solution'
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, one of the petitioners, said Sunday that the court had offered the “simplest and cleanest” solution: a repeat vote held without cameras or coercion.
“Anyone who refuses to vote again in a clean process admits that the first vote was tainted,” the movement said. It argued that a state comptroller, whose role includes scrutinizing government bodies, cannot be elected through a process that breached the principle of ballot secrecy.
Labor MK Gilad Kariv also criticized Ohana’s decision, arguing that the Speaker could not claim to speak for the Knesset. He accused Ohana of acting contrary to the Knesset legal adviser’s guidance and of turning the comptroller-selection process into a “circus.” He urged the High Court to reject what he termed Ohana’s “corrupt notice.”
The petitions also cite Rabello’s professional ties to Netanyahu and Likud as raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns. The panel, however, appeared less inclined to intervene on that ground at this stage, indicating that any such concerns could potentially be addressed through a conflict-of-interest arrangement.
Englman’s term is due to end on July 3.
Keshet Neev contributed to this report.