Netanyahu’s lawyer Michael Rabello elected state comptroller after chaotic, controversial vote

Lawmakers vote 61-57 to elect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer Michael Rabello as state comptroller, following a day of unprecedented turmoil in which the second round of voting was halted and rerun amid allegations that Likud lawmakers were instructed to photograph — and even film — their ballots to prove they had voted for Rabello.

Rival candidate, the retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron, backed by the opposition, won the first round 60-57, falling just one vote short of the 61 needed for victory, meaning that several coalition lawmakers had defected.

The second round, which required a simple majority, was then plunged into chaos and ultimately halted amid reports that Likud MKs had been ordered or pressured to photograph or film their votes to prove they had voted for Rabello, despite the election being conducted by secret ballot, as required by law.

Coalition lawmakers suspected of backing Elron in the first round were summoned to Netanyahu’s office, while opposition politicians accused Likud of behaving like a “crime organization” and compared the affair to practices in authoritarian regimes.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana ordered the second round to be rerun from scratch, calling any instruction to photograph ballots “illegal and invalid.” But he rejected advice from Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik to ban phones from the plenum, ruling that lawmakers could photograph themselves and their ballot paper if they chose. Several MKs, including Likud’s Sasson Guetta, and Ministers May Golan and Shlomo Karhi, did so.

The final result indicates that several coalition members who had voted for Elron in the first round changed course and backed Netanyahu’s choice of Rabello in the second.

Rabello has represented Netanyahu in various political negotiations, and both Netanyahu and his wife Sara in numerous legal proceedings.

The opposition is expected to petition the High Court of Justice to annul the vote over the irregularities in the process.

The state comptroller, who reports directly to the Knesset, is responsible, among other things, for the external oversight of the activities of government ministries and local government, and the financial affairs of political parties, safeguarding the public interest. The office is meant to be independent of the prime minister and the government.

Netanyahu congratulates Rabello on his election to the position, saying he will invite him in the coming days to their first working meeting.

“We will work together in full cooperation for the benefit of the public service in the State of Israel,” he says.