The head of the Knesset Arrangements Committee, MK Karin Elharrar from Yesh Atid, refuses to schedule a special plenary session for the election of the President next Wednesday, as Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin is requesting.
Elharrar is demanding that after the presidential vote, there be a vote on bills tabled by private members, but the Likud is refusing to meet that demand for fear that laws against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be advanced, such as the one that will prevent an individual facing criminal charges from serving as Prime Minister.
The presidential election must take place by June 9, a month before the end of President Reuven Rivlin's term on July 9. If no presidential election is held, Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin will be appointed acting president, a fact that may cause Yesh Atid to approve the session for the vote even without a vote on private legislation.
Meanwhile, Levin convened the Knesset presidency without representatives of the opposition, and decided not to advance private legislation in the next two weeks in the Knesset plenum.
The Walla! News website reported that Levin’s announcement resulted in great anger among members of the bloc of change who planned to advance in a preliminary reading in the plenum a series of proposals, including laws intended to limit Netanyahu's tenure.