Hearing begins on petitions seeking annulment of state comptroller election

A hearing in the High Court of Justice begins over petitions demanding that the election this month of Michael Rabello, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s longtime lawyer and adviser, as state comptroller be annulled.

The petitions argue that coalition MKs who filmed or photographed themselves putting a voting slip for Rabello into the ballot box during the second round of voting, reportedly on orders of the Likud party, violated Basic Law: The State Comptroller, which says that the vote must be secret.

According to the petitions, the MKs who acted in this manner undermined the freedom of other MKs to vote their conscience and, by extension, the political independence of Rabello as comptroller.

Rabello’s opponent, retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron who lost 61-57 in the second round vote, has joined the petitioners, calling the election “unlawful.”

Petitioners also argued that Rabello’s many years of work for Netanyahu, his wife Sara, and the Likud party mean that he cannot carry out the duties of state comptroller impartially.

Rabello in his response to the High Court said he rejects accusations of being politically dependent, arguing that Israeli law determines that a fair-minded person can carry out public service faithfully even if they had prior connections to those who appointed them.

Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik, in her response, asked the court to dismiss the petitions, saying the petitioners presented no direct evidence that Likud MKs had been ordered to document their vote and arguing that the law does not bar an MK from voluntarily documenting their own vote.