Petition filed against result of state comptroller election, after MKs filmed ‘secret ballot’

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel files a petition to the High Court of Justice against the appointment of Michael Rabello, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, as the next state comptroller, after his election by the Knesset yesterday was beset by a severe violation of the voting process.

During a second round of voting, required because neither candidate won 61 votes in the first round,  Likud MKs — voting in what was supposed to be a secret ballot — were reportedly ordered by a Likud party official to photograph or film their votes to prove they had voted for Rabello.

The vote was canceled amid an uproar, and started anew, but some Likud MKs still took photos and videos of themselves voting for Rabello, who then won 61-57, with some coalition MKs having apparently switched their vote.

The Movement for Quality Government argues in its petition that the vote was not secret because of these actions, and is therefore not valid. Basic Law: The State Comptroller states that the vote in Knesset must be by secret ballot.

The organization argues in its petition that having a secret ballot for the position of state comptroller is designed to safeguard Knesset members’ freedom to vote without pressure or political dependence, in order to preserve the status of the state comptroller as an independent and impartial oversight authority over government agencies.

“An election conducted in explicit violation of a Basic Law provision cannot stand,” said Stav Livne, an attorney for the Movement for Quality Government. “When a secret ballot is turned into a test of loyalty, it is not only one particular outcome that is harmed, but the public’s trust in the integrity of the democratic process itself.”