Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal attorney, Michael Rabello, was elected by a majority of 61 lawmakers to be the country's new state comptroller in the Knesset's secret ballot vote on Wednesday, after a highly controversial vote took place in the plenum.
The race for state comptroller was between retired Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron, seen as the opposition’s candidate, and Netanyahu’s attorney Rabello.
During the vote, the plenum broke out into clashes and had to be restarted after concerns were raised that coaltion MKs were attempting to document themselves casting their ballots in the secret vote.
Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party had reportedly ordered its lawmakers to document themselves casting their vote for Rabello.
This alleged required documentation from Likud was intended to place pressure on MKs to vote for Rabello, in an illegal move that compromises the secrecy of the ballot.
By law, the process for electing the state comptroller is required to be done through a secret ballot vote to keep the integrity of the vote intact and remove political pressure from the appointment.
Rabello criticized over ties to Netanyahu
There has been criticism over the appointment of Rabello for the role due to his close relations with Netanyahu.
A revote for the selection was required to take place after 60 lawmakers in favor of Elron, while Netanyahu's candidate Rabello received the support of 57 lawmakers in the first vote. Since the outcome lacked the majority of 61 MKs, a second vote was required.
However, the revote was halted in the middle after the opposition argued that lawmakers from the coalition were attempting to document their votes.
MK Keti Shitrit (Likud) was accused of attempting to film herself casting her ballot, sparking sharp criticism from opposition MKs in the plenum and causing the vote to be halted.
Shitrit later argued after the vote was restarted that it was her right to film herself behind the voting booth.
"It’s not that I’m doing election propaganda or anything like that; it is fully my right," she said.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) said when the vote was halted that "any instruction from anyone to film inside the ballot box is illegal and not valid," while noting that it was permitted for the MKs to decide whether or not to film themselves.
MKs were still allowed to bring their phones with them into the plenum when the vote was restarted.
Later, footage of Communcations Minister Shlomo Khari (Likud) filming himself casting his ballot for Rabello circulated, along with an image of MK Hanoch Milwidsky (Likud) taking a selfie and holding up the ballot with Netanyahu’s attorney’s name on it.
Ohana noted that the members of the ballot committee, the coalition whip, the opposition coordinator, the Knesset secretary, and a representative of the Knesset’s legal adviser had convened with him amid the tensions.
Netanyahu arrived at the Knesset to cast his vote. Some lawmakers from the haredi parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism - have voiced their support for Rabilo, despite recent conflict with Netanyahu over the haredi draft bill.
Opposition politicians have sharply criticized Rabilo for being set as a state comptroller candidate. Petitions were later filed with the High Court of Justice against the legality of the election by opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid faction and the Movement for Quality Government.
Leader of the Yashar! Party Gadi Eisenkot, rivaling Netanyahu in the upcoming elections, called on all MKs not to support Rabello’s appointment ahead of the vote.
He warned that it was a corrupt move to appoint the prime minister’s personal attorney as state comptroller.
“Even if he [Rabello] is an honest and upright person and a good lawyer. It would be another stain on Israel’s legislature,” Eisenkot explained.
While plenum votes are usually held openly, choosing to have a secret ballot has been the set protocol to minimize direct political pressure on Knesset members with the aim of allowing them to vote more independently.
In practice, however, the election process has become known as a political one, amid coaltion pressure and agreements.
The State Comptroller’s Office has oversight over the country’s public administration, integrity, and quality of services. The comptroller has broad access to documents and information, along with the ability to publish reports and audit government ministries and other public bodies.
The state comptroller is elected by lawmakers in the Knesset by secret ballot for a single term of seven years. The term of the current state comptroller, Matanyahu Englman, ends officially on July 3.
Under the State Comptroller Law, the candidate who receives the support of a majority of Knesset members in the secret ballot vote will be elected.
If neither candidate receives the support of at least 61 MKs, a second round of voting is held, as was done in these elections.
The law also stipulates that if in the revote it is still not possible to obtain a majority of 61 lawmakers, the candidate who received the highest amount of votes will be elected as state comptroller, even if the number is below 61.
In the event of a tie, additional rounds of voting and vote counting are held until a winner is determined.