Former Knesset Speaker: I won't vote for the Likud

Former Knesset Speaker Dan Tichon, who served as a Knesset Member on behalf of the Likud between 1981 and 1999, said on Monday evening in an interview with Kan 11 News that he does not intend to vote for the Likud in the upcoming elections.

"For sure, I will not vote for the Likud in the current format. I will not lend a hand to the dismantling of the democracy in the State of Israel. Democracy is facing a tough attack and needs to be protected," Tichon said.

Tichon joins another former Likud MK and Minister, Benny Begin, who declared on Monday morning that he would not vote for the Likud in next week’s election.

"In recent years, I sometimes think that the Likud leadership is making considerable efforts to make it difficult for me to support the Likud, and in recent months has even prevented me from voting for the Likud in the elections," Begin, the son of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, told Army Radio in an interview.

"It is impossible. You cannot continue to behave like this and expect a reward as well. I know a few other people that this behavior causes them to loathe the idea of ​​voting for the Likud. There should be a price for such arrogant rude and blatant behavior," added Begin.

Tichon and Begin’s criticism is centered around the government’s current push to pass the “Camera Law”, which would permit election observers to install cameras in voting booths to prevent fraud.

Critics of the bill have argued that the proposal would create chaos in voting areas, giving too many people the ability to use cameras in polling places. In addition, some jurists have claimed that the move would violate constitutional limitations on the ability of caretaker governments to pass new legislation without the support of the Opposition.

“The government is bound by the constitutional advice” of the Attorney General, said Begin in Monday’s interview, criticizing the cabinet’s decision Sunday to support the Camera Law despite Attorney General Avichai Mandeblit’s criticism.

“Refusing to abide by the Attorney General’s decision is very serious,” continued Begin.

The Camera Law, while approved by the Cabinet, needs to be put forward to a vote in the Knesset, but is unlikely to pass, since Yisrael Beytenu MKs have changed their minds and no longer support it.