The Central Elections Committee on Wednesday night began counting the “double envelopes” in the elections for the 25th Knesset, after which the final results will be published.
The so-called “double envelopes” contain votes by members of the security forces, prisoners, hospital patients and staff, diplomats serving abroad, residents of senior citizen and assisted living facilities, and people who voted at polling stations for those with movement disabilities.
So far there have been no significant changes as a result of the count. Shas rose from 8.37% to 8.39%. Channel 12 News reported that Meretz remains below the electoral threshold and has dropped to 3.159%.
Before the process began, the Likud Party claimed that Orly Ades, Director General of the Central Elections Committee, was preventing the representatives of the factions in the committee from supervising the counting of the “double envelopes”.
"In an unprecedented manner and contrary to the law, she ordered a rope to be deployed between the area where the envelopes are counted and the area in which the members of the Elections Committee who supervise the counters are located, in a way that does not allow them to supervise the counting process as required by their duties," Likud claimed.
Attorney Ilan Bombach, deputy chairman of the Central Elections Committee on behalf of the Likud, appealed to Ades that the illegal barrier, as he put it, be immediately removed, in order to allow him to perform his duties and oversee the process of counting the envelopes.
"For an unknown reason she refused and as of now there is no way to properly monitor the counting of the envelopes and there may be mistakes and forgeries," the Likud warned.
Giora Pordes, a spokesman for the Central Elections Committee, rejected all the Likud's claims and explained that in order to maintain the order of movement of hundreds of people who were recruited for the purpose of counting the votes, a small rope was placed in the area in order to distribute the double envelopes before they are opened and counted.
"Just as yesterday, before the counting of the votes had even begun, certain parties had already begun to spread baseless rumors about 'irregularities', so today, even before the counting of the double envelopes had begun, there was already a demand from certain parties for a 'recounting' that had not yet begun as stated. The personal attacks on the Director General of the Elections Committee that were disseminated must be condemned,'' added the spokesman.
On Wednesday evening, the Central Elections Committee updated that after 89% of the votes had been counted, there is no change in the distribution of seats among the parties and the two blocs. Meretz remains below the electoral threshold, with 3.17%.
Likud - 32
Yesh Atid - 24
Religious Zionist Party - 14
National Unity - 12
Shas - 11
United Torah Judaism - 8
Yisrael Beytenu - 5
Hadash-Ta'al - 5
Ra’am - 5
Labor - 4
Right-wing bloc - 65 seats
Left-wing bloc - 45
Arab parties - 10