The National Fraud Investigations Unit announced Wednesday that it had found evidence of forgery that allegedly took place during the Labor primaries in 2007. Police believe signatures on voter registries were forged in several polling places.
Police will pass the material they have gathered to state prosecutors, who will decide whether or not to indict any of the suspects named in the police report.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak beat Minister Ami Ayalon by a small margin in the 2007 primaries. Ayalon and his supporters said on the actual day of the vote that they suspected voting fraud, particularly in Arab and Druze cities. Some Labor activists reported seeing envelopes in voting boxes before polling stations were opened.
Ayalon conceded to Barak and said he would not pursue a repeat of the vote, but expressed determination to pursue his suspicions, saying, “Labor is my home, and my home will be clean.” Party official Justice Amnon Strashnov pushed for an investigation. The investigation began several weeks after the 2007 primaries and concluded this week.
Police suspect poll workers of being involved in the forgeries. Forgeries took place at eight polling stations in the north and two in the Negev, they said. During the primaries, Ayalon said he suspected voting irregularities in Shfaram, Tira, Jaljulya and Yafiye.
The Labor party has faced similar problems in the past. In 2001, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said he suspected voter fraud in three Druze towns after losing to rival candidate Avraham Burg by a small margin. A court ruled in Ben-Eliezer's favor and ordered a repeat of the vote, which Ben-Eliezer won.
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