The Central Elections Committee for the 26th Knesset decided today (Wednesday) to also disqualify the Ra’am party from running in the elections. The decision follows the earlier disqualifications of MK Ofer Cassif and Balad chairman MK Sami Abu Shehadeh.
The petitions to disqualify Ra’am were submitted to the committee by Otzma Yehudit, Likud, and the Choosing Life Forum. Following the Elections Committee’s decision, the question of whether the party will be permitted to participate in the elections will now be decided by the Supreme Court.
The hearing on Ra’am was held as part of an extensive day of deliberations on disqualification petitions submitted ahead of the elections for the 26th Knesset. A total of seven hearings on disqualification requests have been scheduled during the current election campaign - two concerning individual candidates and five concerning party lists.
Earlier today, the Elections Committee decided to disqualify Abu Shehadeh following a petition submitted by Otzma Yehudit. Thirty-one members of the committee voted in favor of his disqualification, while four voted against.
In an unusual move, Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg decided to participate in the vote and voted in favor of disqualification.
“I will depart from the customary practice of committee chairmen to maintain neutrality. I did not find an answer that could satisfy me, and therefore, although this is rare, I am voting in favor of disqualifying Sami Abu Shehadeh. If there is a case in which the application is clear, this is the case," Sohlberg said.
Earlier, the Elections Committee accepted Likud’s petition to disqualify MK Ofer Cassif. In the vote on his case, 19 committee members supported disqualification, five opposed it, and two abstained.
Likud’s petition against Cassif was filed on the grounds of negating the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee decided to accept the petition on the grounds of support for an armed struggle by an enemy state or terrorist organization against the State of Israel.
The disqualification decisions do not conclude the proceedings. The final decision regarding the candidates and party lists that were disqualified will be made by the Supreme Court.