Election Committee rejects right-wing slate’s request to bump up Otzma Yehudit candidate on its list

Central Elections Committee chairman Hanan Melcer rules to reject a request from the Union of Right Wing Parties to bump Otzma Yehudit candidate Itamar Ben Gvir up two spots on its joint list for the upcoming elections, in order to take the place of his disqualified colleague Michael Ben Ari.

Concurring with the position of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, Melcer determines that the current law does not grant his committee jurisdiction to alter Knesset lists once the deadline has passed.

The URWP blasts the decision, saying that, “as expected, Justice Melcer fell in love with the procedure and abandoned the essence.” The right-wing party has argued that the unprecedented nature of the Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify Ben Ari for incitement of violence warranted flexibility in allowing them to alter their list accordingly.

Ben Ari had been placed at number five on the URWP list, which is an amalgam of the Jewish Home, National Union and Otzma Yehudit. The latter party’s number 2, its only other candidate on the URWP slate, Ben Gvir, was placed at number eight.

Each candidate after Ben Ari was bumped up one spot, after the Supreme Court decision.