The High Court ruled Monday against a petition calling to postpone the elections, scheduled for Tuesday. The Koach L'Hashpia (lit. The Power to Influence) party, which filed the appeal, argued that elections should be postponed until all voting stations provide access to those with physical disabilities.
While voting stations are required by law to be accessible to the handicapped, many are not, the party claimed. Party officials also argued that many physically disabled individuals have nobody to assist them in traveling to their designated voting station, leaving them unable to participate in the elections.
According to Koach L'Hashpia, 700,000 Israelis suffer some form of handicap. The party hopes to represent those with handicaps and solve problems facing those with disabilities. It is not expected to pass the minimum threshold necessary to enter Knesset.
The presiding justices ruled that the appeal had been filed too late, and determined that the High Court could not take action on the matter less than 24 hours before elections are to begin. The justices expressed hope that efforts would be made to assist handicapped citizens and allow them to exercise their right to vote.
Koach L'Hashpia Chairman Yochai Dok expressed concern that the results of Monday's court session would torpedo his party's chances in Tuesday's elections. The population most likely to support the party is also likely to be stuck at home, with no way to reach the voting station, he lamented.
Koach L'Hashpia lacks the funding necessary to transport hundreds of thousands of handicapped citizens to the stations, he added.
State officials have argued that physically handicapped individuals are permitted to vote at a station that is handicapped-accessible even if it is not their designated station. The Elections Committee will fund travel from one town to another, on public transportation, for those who cannot vote within their own home towns, officials say.