Israel's election body rejects Netanyahu's fraud claims

Israel’s election authority on Wednesday rejected allegations promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fraud by Arab parties, which could hold the key to removing him from power after a divisive vote, AFP reported in a story carried by Dawn.

What the committee found

The Central Elections Committee said it had audited 9,069 polling stations after complaints and was confident that the announced results “accurately reflect the will of the voters”. “All complaints submitted by political factions have been reviewed and there were no findings indicating harm to the integrity of the election,” it said in a statement on the October 27 vote.

Netanyahu has repeatedly alleged fraud by Arab-majority parties. He has pointed to the arrests of several people found with envelopes of cash on election day and has since claimed that lawmakers received money from Qatar. AFP noted that similar allegations have been made against his own aides in the past. No evidence for the claims has been reported in the sources we drew on.

The Shin Bet row

Late on Tuesday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said she would not have anyone questioned without evidence, after reports that the head of the domestic security service Shin Bet, who is a Netanyahu ally, had asked to interrogate Arab parties. Netanyahu’s Likud party hit back, accusing her of trying to “obstruct the investigation and to cover up this serious case of manipulation of the electoral process by foreign actors”.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief who is trying to unite centrists and the centre-right, accused Likud of attempting a “pogrom against democracy”. Former prime minister Yair Lapid, a key figure in the opposition bloc, pointed to the Democratic win in the US midterms and said the Shin Bet “outbursts” paired with that result “eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu”.

How the numbers stand

Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot holds the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member parliament. Netanyahu’s bloc has 53 seats against Eisenkot’s 48. Arab parties, whose seat count surged to 19 on outrage over the actions and rhetoric of Netanyahu’s government, could take Eisenkot over the threshold, but some in the opposition have baulked at relying on non-Jewish lawmakers’ votes. Yousef Jabareen, who heads the largest Arab-majority party in the next parliament, told AFP this week that the opposition needed to accept “political reality” and team up to remove Netanyahu. Netanyahu has warned Jewish Israelis that the opposition will work with Arab parties, which he accuses of backing Hamas.

What happens next

President Isaac Herzog received the official results at noon on Wednesday and begins two days of consultations with parties, starting with the smaller ones. He then decides who gets the first chance to form a government. The role is largely ceremonial, AFP noted, but the president holds the decisive vote on this question. Herzog has said he wants “fresh thinking” and wants to avoid a new election, and his comments have prompted speculation that he could sound out leaders on a unity government.

The person tasked has 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension. If they fail, Herzog gives the mandate to someone else, and if that also fails, a majority of lawmakers can nominate a candidate within 21 days, or Israel goes to new elections. After the last election, in November 2022, it took Netanyahu 58 days to form a government. Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022 after repeated deadlocks.

Why it matters

Netanyahu faces corruption charges and the risk of jail if he loses power and the immunity that comes with it, AFP noted, which helps explain why the stakes are so high. Eisenkot had also warned him against launching a new war with Trump against Iran, which could help the prime minister push for a unity government or run out the clock until new elections. We reported on the first results in our story on the deadlock and the gains of the Arab parties, and on election day itself.

The committee’s finding matters because the fraud claims fall mainly on the Arab-majority parties whose votes may decide who governs. For Arab citizens of Israel, whose parties won 19 seats, the allegations cast suspicion on their representatives at the moment their votes count most. What to watch is whom Herzog picks, whether the opposition can agree to rely on Arab parties, and whether Netanyahu drops or repeats the claims now that the official audit has rejected them.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and AFP.