It could have been the Arab answer to Baruch Marzel: a representative of the extremist Arab party Ra'am-Ta'al, it was reported earlier Sunday, was slated to be one of three polling booth monitors in Beit El on Election Day. However, party leader MK Ahmed Tibi has said that the party will not send a monitor to Beit El because "we do not recognize the settlements in the occupied territories."
The Central Elections Committee computer program that randomly designates parties to various polling stations around the country proved once again that it has a sense of humor. After the Committee appointed nationalist Baruch Marzel to head the polling station in the hostile Israeli-Arab city of Um el-Fahm last week, it appointed a representative of the extremist Arab party Ra'am-Ta'al to a polling booth monitor in the Jewish town of Beit El in southern Samaria.
The Elections Committee randomly appoints three parties to oversee each polling station around the country. Each party, depending on its size, also gets to chair a certain number of stations.
The Raam-Taal representative in Beit El was supposed to serve alongside delegates from the National Union and Kadima parties.
The decision followed the decision publicized last week of Marzel's appointment to head the Um el-Fahm station. The Marzel appointment was ironic, in that he had just been turned down by the police in his request to stage a pro-Jewish parade in the city – for fear that violence would result.
Irregularities are Feared
The job of the polling booth chairman is to ensure that no illegalities or irregularities take place at the voting station. In previous elections, voters in Arab areas have been known to vote several times during the course of the day, each time with a different ID card. Similarly, illogical results from Arab village voting stations have raised widespread suspicion of ballot stuffing.
One-Sided Request from Mazuz
Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz requested last week that the Central Elections Committee prevent Marzel from chairing the booth in Um el-Fahm, for fear of “disturbance of the public order and the proper management of Election Day. Mazuz is not expected to make a similar request regarding Beit El.
Elections Committee Chairman Judge Eliezer Rivlin turned Mazuz down and refused to renounce Marzel’s appointment. Rivlin explained, “The Committee has no authority to intervene in the identity of the representatives of the various factions that were randomly assigned to them. Furthermore, the job assigned to Mr. Marzel by his party makes no difference, since according to the police, his very presence there is liable to cause a disturbance. The solution for this, therefore, is not just to find him a different job, but for the police to ensure that the law is enforced.”
Rivlin emphasized that the Elections Committee is responsible to find a secretary for each polling station, “and for this purpose it makes sure to ensure that each secretary is appropriate to his or her job [and location].”