Likud claims election ‘stolen’ by Arab parties, demands probe; CEC says reviewing allegations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party claimed on Wednesday that the October 27 election was “stolen” by Arab parties and demanded an investigation by police and the Shin Bet into widespread voter fraud and intimidation.

“The elections in Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terror and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offences of bribery, threats, violence, forgeries and the use of illegal software to mobilise voters,” the Likud party insisted in a statement.

The Arab-led political parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, which run in every election and hold seats in the Knesset, received a record number of votes and are projected to win a historic high of 19 seats. The Arab parties’ likely number means that both Netanyahu’s bloc and the main opposition will be far from achieving a Knesset majority.

“We demand that the police and the Shin Bet conduct a thorough investigation into the theft of the elections by the Arab parties and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice,” Likud said.

We demand that the Central Elections Committee take immediate action to investigate these criminal offences, which have severely compromised the integrity of Israel’s elections and their results, it added.

Throughout the campaign, Netanyahu’s party said cooperation with Arab parties was illegitimate.

Likud said that it is giving the police, the Shin Bet, and the Central Elections Committee “hundreds of testimonies” and other evidence, including “thousands of envelopes with cash and Ra’am slips, threats and violence towards ballot committee members, multiple voters behind the voting screen, double voting, discrepancies between the number of envelopes and the number of voters, use of illegal voter mobilisation software, and more.”

Likud demands a “thorough investigation” and an immediate response from the CEC regarding an investigation.

Reviewing all fraud allegations, says election panel

The Central Elections Committee said it is reviewing allegations of election fraud and irregularities raised by all parties, following a demand by PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party for an investigation into alleged widespread fraud in yesterday’s election.

“The Central Elections Committee has launched its election-integrity monitoring operation, as it does in every election, as part of which all inquiries from parties concerning election integrity or alleged errors in the results will be examined,” the committee said.

CEC’s acting director general, Dean Livne, said the committee received Likud’s request and is reviewing it.

The allegations follow unprecedented turnout among Arab voters, with the Arab-led parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, projected to reach a historic combined high of 19 seats.

Netanyahu’s bloc is projected to fall short of a majority despite Likud emerging as the largest party. The Jewish-led opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot could form a government with Arab support, but some opposition parties have rejected that idea.

Final results expected on Thursday: CEC

Officials of Israel’s Central Elections Committee said on Wednesday that final results from the country’s election are expected on Thursday.

Control Manager Elad Naveh said counting of “external envelopes” would conclude by the evening when the committee would “be able to provide the almost final results of the 26th election.”