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Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Knesset holds second round of voting for state comptroller after neither candidate gets 61 votes in 1st round
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
The Knesset is holding a second secret ballot for state comptroller after neither candidate secured the support of a majority of lawmakers in the first round of voting, with a number of coalition lawmakers apparently not voting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s preferred candidate.
Retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron, the opposition’s favored candidate, received 60 votes, falling one short of the 61 needed for election, while Netanyahu’s lawyer Michael Rabello received 57 votes.
One ballot was a blank piece of paper, Channel 12 news reports.
Under the State Comptroller Law, if neither candidate wins the backing of at least 61 MKs in the first round, a second ballot is held, after which the candidate who receives a majority of the votes will be declared the winner, even without getting 61 votes.
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