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Likud opposes effort to bring overseas voters to Israel for elections
Likud called for a ban on an initiative aimed at bringing Israelis living abroad to the country to vote in the parliamentary elections on October 27. The latest poll projects that Likud will win 18 seats, while the Yashar Party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, will secure 22.
Voters must be physically present within Israel’s borders to cast ballots in parliamentary elections. Because of this requirement, an initiative was launched to facilitate the participation of Israelis living abroad in the elections on October 27.
An operation was being conducted by the US-based AID Coalition to fly overseas voters to Israel and take them to polling stations.
Likud calls for the initiative to be banned
The governing Likud petitioned Noam Sohlberg, the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, to halt the initiative. The party’s petition called for the AID Coalition’s project to be banned.
Likud claimed that most of those who participate in the project could vote for opposition parties. The party also alleged that the operation was being conducted for political motives and aimed at benefiting the left wing.
The petition argued that the initiative amounted to covert bribery and violated campaign finance laws. Likud alleged that the AID Coalition was linked to the Democrats Party, led by Yair Golan, and said the effort aimed to reduce public support for Likud.
Debate over voting from abroad
According to a recent study by Dr. Or Asher of the Tachlith Institute for Israeli Public Policy, 40 of 44 European countries allow their citizens to vote from abroad.
The assessment noted that Likud’s opposition to an initiative that could increase democratic participation was contradictory to its defense of practices such as “Elector,” which was said to violate privacy in efforts to direct its own voters to the polls.
Poll projects decline in Likud’s seat count
A Channel 13 poll dated September 17 projected that Likud would win 18 seats if the elections were held that day. The result indicated declining support for the party ahead of the October 27 elections.
The Yashar Party, led by former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, was projected to win 22 seats, four more than Likud. Forty-five percent of respondents viewed Eisenkot as the most suitable candidate for prime minister, compared with 36 percent for Benjamin Netanyahu.
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