Likud petitioned the Central Elections Committee on Wednesday to shut down the programs helping Israelis abroad fly home to vote on October 27. The French daily 20 Minutes calls it an "anti-democratic power grab." It is a petition before a judge. And it directly concerns thousands of Midbar readers.
The facts first. On Wednesday, attorney Ilan Bombach, acting on behalf of Likud, filed a petition with the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Justice Noam Solberg. It asks him to halt the initiatives that help expatriate Israelis return home to vote on October 27: discounted fares negotiated through group bookings, help with paperwork, shuttles from the airport. Two targets are named: Aid Coalition, an American organization opposed to the outgoing government that runs the "Fly and Vote" program, and the opposition party The Democrats. For Likud, these fares amount to an "electoral bribe" and violate the Party Financing Law. Back in late August, it was already accusing the operation of undermining "the authenticity of the vote."
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts 600,000 Israelis living outside the country. The law does not allow them to vote from abroad, apart from consular staff. Michal Dagon, who heads the project, recently told Haaretz that more than 30,000 people had registered, against a target of 50,000 to 70,000 voters. In an election the polls call tight between Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc and Gadi Eisenkot's, that is no footnote.
