MK Sharren Haskel plans to appeal to the Likud’s court after the party’s Election Committee made a decision that bumped her from 27th to 38th place on the party’s list.
The decision put her in a place that is unlikely to get her into the next Knesset. Haskel said she will appeal the decision until it reaches the Supreme Court, if it comes to that.
The Likud Election Committee decided to leave in place a designation for a new woman candidate in the 25th spot on the list. Cigarette lobbyist Keren Barak will take that place if the list is not changed.
Haskel argued that the Likud’s election regulations state that if there are three women elected to spots before 25th place, then that spot is no longer reserved for a new woman – and three women were voted into higher places. In addition, Eti Attiya – a new female candidate from the Dan district – is in 23rd place, and the rules state that if a woman is elected to a regional spot, then the 31st place reserved for a new woman is not canceled.
However, Likud Election Committee chairman and former Supreme Court justice Menachem Ne’eman pointed out that the regulations do not say anything about what happens to the 25th spot.
MK Miki Zohar, who took Haskel’s side, argued before the committee that the law calls to bump new women candidates in case there are not six women before the 40th place, but there are six women in the first 30 places and 10 in the first 40, including four new women.
Barak argued that if none of the women selected before 25th place are new to the Knesset, she should be moved up to that spot.
Central Committee chairman and Labor and Social Services Minister Chaim Katz took Barak’s side. Haskel has argued that this is because he leads a strongly pro-union bloc within the Likud, while she has proposed legislation to limit workers’ strikes.
The committee determined that Attiya’s election to 23rd place should not be considered, because Attiya was elected in her region, as opposed to Barak, who took part in the national primary vote. In addition, the committee said the new woman spot should not be canceled by the fact that three veteran female MKs came before that on the list.
All of the list placements are pending the review of the Likud vote count, after discrepancies were found, such as some candidates receiving more votes in a town than people who actually voted in that location, or candidates being listed as getting fewer votes than the local polling place counted. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a review and re-typing of the results to ensure that they are accurate.