Coalition seeks delay before Israel certifies vote

Outgoing Israeli leaders are trying to stop the official release of last week's election results.

The Central Elections Committee is scheduled to publish the final count on Wednesday.

Members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition hold a majority on the 16-person panel.

They sent a letter to committee chief Noam Sohlberg on Tuesday.

The coalition members asked for an urgent discussion of suspected vote buying by several Arab suspects.

They want to see all intelligence from the Shin Bet regarding ongoing voter fraud investigations.

The group stated they see no possibility of publishing results before that information is shared.

Sohlberg, who also serves as Supreme Court deputy president, replied that the meeting will start at 9 a.m. instead of its usual time.

He said this earlier start allows for a more comprehensive discussion.

Sohlberg noted that the plenum has no legal power to delay publication under Israel's Basic Laws.

The law requires results to be published eight days after an election.

The committee cannot demand evidence of wrongdoing during this certification process. Any such claims will go to the courts later. The results will be presented to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday. He will then meet with representatives from the 11 parties in the new Knesset. Herzog is expected to grant a mandate to form a government to the person who receives the most support from party chiefs. Likud and other coalition figures have questioned the legitimacy of the result. They point to investigations into alleged fraud by members of the Ra’am party. They also cite a probe into purported foreign interference. Claims suggest Qatar or other powers secretly funded efforts to boost Arab voter turnout. These allegations have not been substantiated. The Shin Bet and Mossad are expected to finish their probe soon. Sohlberg has said the election integrity is not in question. He stated there is no evidence that investigations will change the results. Opposition figures accuse Netanyahu and Likud of trying to undermine the outcome. The pro-Netanyahu bloc lost its governing majority in the vote. Likud received the most seats with 27. The coalition won a combined 53 seats. The other 67 seats are split between Jewish-led parties with 48 seats and Arab-led parties with 19. Sohlberg previously rejected a Likud attempt to delay publication on Monday. He wrote that the committee has no authority to withhold certification. The committee members are drawn from the outgoing Knesset, not the new one. This gives Netanyahu's bloc the majority on the panel. Nothing physically stops that majority from voting against certification on Wednesday morning. Such a vote would have no legal basis. It would likely not survive scrutiny by the High Court of Justice. The committee's authority extends only to confirming valid votes and their translation into seats. These figures were already determined by Sohlberg and his deputies. Members may vote against certification only if they identify errors in those calculations. A vote against on other grounds would constitute an administrative failure. Petitions would likely be filed to the High Court. The court would be expected to order the committee to certify the results based on its legal mandate. This kind of saga has never happened in Israeli history. In 2020, Likud representatives abstained during a similar vote over unsubstantiated irregularity claims. Channel 12 news published the letter from the 16 coalition members on Tuesday evening. The signatories requested a resolution to provide all information from Shin Bet chief David Zini. They also wanted intel from the Mossad and Israel Police concerning voting irregularities. The move was coordinated by outgoing Likud MK Avihai Boaron, a close Netanyahu loyalist.