From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Coalition said weighing pushing off vote for Judicial Selection Committee by a month
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The coalition is reportedly entertaining a plan to push off the vote on the Judicial Selection Committee by a month.
Firebrand Likud MK Tally Gotliv says she refused a proposal raised in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning to pull all nominees for the Judicial Selection Committee and therefore effectively push off the vote by 30 days.
In an interview with Channel 12, Gotliv does not say who raised the idea, but says she refused to entertain it, since she has repeatedly said that she will not be pulling her candidacy no matter what.
If only two candidates remain, lawmakers are permitted to vote either “for” or “against” the choices. If at least one of the two candidates does not get a majority of “for” votes, then the Knesset can hold a second election 30 days later to fill vacant seats, according to a protocol summary sent by the Knesset’s legal adviser.
Opposition lawmaker MK Karine Elharrar is expected to stay on the ballot, meaning the coalition would pull all candidates except Gotliv, and then ask its lawmakers to vote against both.
This plan gives the coalition the advantage of waiting for the results of the Israel Bar Association’s June 20 election. If the bar’s new head is favorable to the coalition, it can then appoint two coalition MKs in hopes of winning a majority on the panel.
With four politicians and two IBA representatives, the coalition can choose the next Supreme Court president, after which they would have seven aligned votes and could tap Supreme Court justices.
If an IBA candidate is selected who does not support the overhaul, the coalition will have less motivation to fight for two coalition lawmaker seats.
The Times of Israel Community.