On Sunday morning, MK Idit Silman tendered her resignation as a Knesset member to Speaker Mickey Levy. The move is being made in advance of the submission of party lists for the upcoming elections, later this week. Silman is expected to receive a "safe spot" on the Likud party list.
Last week, the Supreme Court rejected a petition submitted by the Movement for Quality Governance, which sought to establish that the Elections Law bars any agreement or commitment being made with MK Idit Silman for a place on the Likud party list for the 25th Knesset.
"This petition is rejected out of hand due to its being premature and theoretical," Supreme Court Justices found. The Movement for Quality Governance was then ordered to pay NIS 9,000 in costs.
Justice Yosef Alron noted that it is not the Court's place to examine the legality of an assured position on a party list for Silman, given that the claim the Movement made is based on media reports and has not been proven true.
The Movement had claimed that there are solid grounds for suspecting that the law has been broken regarding Silman, citing a section of the Elections Law that prohibits a sitting Knesset member from one party being given a guaranteed place on another party's list within 90 days of elections.
Last month, the Supreme Court rejected Silman's request to separate from the Yamina party (presumably in order to join Likud following an oral promise to give her a secure place on its list), forcing Silman to resign her Knesset seat in order to run with a different party in upcoming elections.