A total of 968 votes have been deducted from Arab parties during ongoing reviews of the results of the election for the 26th Knesset, Avraham Justman, an Agudat Yisrael representative on the Central Elections Committee, reported Tuesday morning.
The figures follow an update published on the committee's website Monday night. According to Justman, the deductions emerged during routine election integrity checks but are not expected to affect the distribution of Knesset seats. The checks are part of the committee's standard post-election review process, which includes reexamining results from a substantial number of polling stations, correcting typing and transcription errors, and reviewing complaints and submissions from the public and candidate lists. The committee has emphasized that such corrections are routinely carried out after every election before the official results are finalized.
The latest developments come amid a political storm surrounding a separate investigation by the ISA, police and the State Attorney's Office into suspected foreign interference in the election. The investigation includes suspicions that money was transferred from foreign sources in an effort to improperly influence voter turnout in the Arab sector.
Against this backdrop, attorney Ilan Bombach, a deputy chairman of the Central Elections Committee representing Likud, asked Monday for an urgent meeting of the committee's presidium to discuss the investigation. However, Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg rejected the request, explaining in a formal response that neither the presidium nor the committee's plenum has the authority to intervene in the investigation or postpone publication of the election results.
Sohlberg cited the fundamental laws of the Knesset, which require the official results to be published within eight days of election day. He clarified that the presidium's responsibilities are limited to counting valid votes and calculating the distribution of seats, and do not include the authority to invalidate votes or withhold publication of the results. He also warned that disclosing information about the ongoing investigation could compromise its progress, adding that law enforcement authorities are working to conclude it as quickly as possible.
The controversy intensified after Likud claimed that a margin of just 4,612 votes separated the current distribution of seats from a scenario in which one seat would shift from UAL to the right-wing bloc. The party has called for a comprehensive investigation into the allegations before any definitive conclusions are reached about their possible impact on the election outcome.
Sohlberg, however, said earlier this week that the election had been conducted properly and that the evidence collected so far did not undermine the overall results. While stressing that the suspicions were serious and warranted a thorough investigation, he maintained that they did not justify delaying the publication of the official results.
The finalized election results are scheduled to be presented to the president on Wednesday, in accordance with the timetable established by law.