A CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMITTEE PRIMER ON MARCH 28

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 001184 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM PINR IS GOI INTERNAL ELECTIONS SUBJECT: A CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMITTEE PRIMER ON MARCH 28 ELECTIONS ¶1. Summary. The chairperson of the Israeli Central Elections Committee (CEC),Supreme Court Judge Dorit Beinisch, told the Ambassador March 22 that she is confident of the solid organization of Israeli elections, and explained details of the voting process as it will unfold on Election Day. Exit polls are permitted after polls close at 2200 local time, but announcement of formal results by the CEC can take as long as eight days. End Summary. -------------- Election Organization -------------- ¶2. Beinisch explained that a new Central Elections Committee is formed within 60 days following the induction of members of each new Knesset. The current CEC consists of some 36 members, consisting of representatives of all the Knesset factions. Factions receive one CEC seat for every four MKs. The Supreme Court names one of its own associate judges as CEC chairperson, and the position rotates among the judges. Professional staff ensure the continuity of the institution, and the CEC hires nearly 40,000 election workers for each election. The CEC budget for the coming elections is more than 40 million USD. Historically, international election observers have not monitored Israeli elections, according to Beinisch. She commented that Israelis are proud of their elections and generally trust the voting process in Israel. -------------- Participation -------------- ¶3. Beinisch told the Ambassador she planned to record a get-out-the-vote media message later in the day to encourage the Israeli electorate to vote on Election Day, March 28, which is an official holiday in Israel. (The Embassy will be closed in solidarity.) She said voter disinterest could translate into lower-than-normal participation rates, which historically have been in the high seventies, but may slip to the sixties in this election. Polls will be open from 0800 until 2200 local time. -------------- 31 Parties Vie to Cross Two Percent Threshold -------------- ¶4. Beinisch reported that 31 parties will contest the elections for the 17th Knesset, but far fewer will make it past the two percent threshold now required (up from the 1.5 percentage requirement for election to the 16th Knesset). Pollsters predict that the following parties are likely to cross the two percent threshold: Kadima, Labor-Meimad, Likud, Yisraeli Beitenu, Shas, Ichud Leumi-Mafdal (National Union and The National Religious Party); Torah and Shabbat Judaism (formerly United Torah Judaism),Meretz, Hadash, National Democratic Assembly (an Arab party also known as "Balad"),the United Arab List - Arab Renewal, Green Leaf, and Gil (Pensioners of Israel in the Knesset). Other parties that are competing but not likely to reach the threshold are, alphabetically: Brit Olam, Da-am Workers' Party, Greens (Hayerukim),Herut, Hetz, National Arab Party, National Jewish Front, New Zionism, One Future, Party for the Struggle with the Banks, Shinui, Strength to the Poor, Lechem, Leder, Lev, Tafnit, Tzedek Lakol, and Tzomet. -------------- No Parties Disqualified in 2006 -------------- ¶5. Beinisch recalled that the CEC had disqualified the Kach party in 1988, as well as, in 2003, its successor organization, the National Jewish Front. The Supreme Court overturned the 2003 disqualification in a 5-to-4 (Beinisch) decision, which Beinisch said may explain why no one has challenged the participation of the National Jewish Front in the 2006 elections. She noted that the CEC rejected a request by Likud and several other parties to disqualify the mostly Arab Ra'am-Ta'al party of Sheikh Zarsur in this election. (Note: Beinisch said she concurs fully with the CEC decision, but abstained in the actual vote. End Note.) She said she anticipates no further challenges to party participation in this election. -------------- Advertising: Two racist ads removed -------------- ¶6. Beinisch and five colleagues review daily the political advertisements that parties put on the air. The state authorizes each party ten minutes of television advertisements a day, with an additional three minutes for every MK the party has in the Knesset. As chairperson she is empowered to order the removal of any ads that she and her committee determine to be inappropriate/racist. In this campaign, Beinisch asked the secular Shinui Party to edit or remove an ad that she judged inappropriate in its portrayal of ultra-Orthodox Jewry. Shinui refused to edit the ad, and she ordered it removed. In addition, she said, she pulled an ad by the right-wing Herut party that urged Arabs to leave Israel. Beinisch noted that the election law authorizes her to ensure that the media does not promote particular candidates, but, in practice, this is impossible to implement. "We respect freedom of speech, and I did not limit them (media)," Beinisch affirmed, adding that the election law should be modified in this respect. She noted that the Likud Party planned to present to her later in the day its allegations that the media is "pro-Kadima," and biased against the Likud Party. -------------- Voting Procedures -------------- ¶7. Beinisch described the two mechanisms by which Israelis cast their vote: the one-envelope method at polling stations and the "two-envelope" method for both Israelis who are stationed overseas and for soldiers, prisoners and others. Unlike the much less restrictive U.S. procedures for absentee voting, Israelis traveling overseas cannot vote by absentee ballot unless they are on official duty. -- Polling Stations: Israelis generally must vote at specific polling stations designated on the basis of the voter's permanent address, although the Knesset will permit the 8,000 Gaza settlement evacuees to vote wherever they currently reside. Representatives from at least three political parties plus a CEC official must be present at each of this election's 8,200 polling stations throughout the 18 different districts. Each voter must present his or her identification card and receives an unmarked envelope in which to place the single ballot. The voter goes behind a screen and selects a ballot from among the 31 political parties contesting these elections. Each party name is represented by a CEC-approved one- three letter symbol to facilitate identification of ballots. For example, the Kadima Party is represented by the Hebrew letters "K" and "N" -- which party propagandists pronounce "Ken" meaning "yes" (not to be confused with the two similar letters, "kuuf" and "noon," selected by the Green Leaf party, which champions the legalization of marijuana). The voter selects a ballot, seals it in the envelope provided, and deposits it in the voting box in front of the party witnesses. The witnesses record that the voter has voted. At the end of the night, each polling station counts the ballots and brings them to the district headquarters, which are responsible for reporting results electronically to the CEC, which operates for Election Day from the Knesset. Some 10 percent of polling booths in each district must be accessible to the disabled. -- Other Arrangements: Soldiers, prisoners and the infirm may place their secret ballots in blank envelopes, which are then placed in envelopes that identify the individual voter. Israeli diplomatic corps members may vote, for example, at any one of Israel's 92 embassies/consulates. These "double envelope" ballots -- estimated by Beinisch to represent 170,000 to 180,000 votes -- are counted by the CEC itself at the Knesset. -------------- Vote Sharing Arrangements by Parties -------------- ¶8. Those parties that do receive two percent of valid votes cast are eligible to share "excess votes" (i.e. votes beyond those required to secure a full seat in the Knesset) with other parties. Following the elections, the CEC oversees the distribution of excess votes. To date, the following parties have negotiated vote-sharing arrangements: Labor and Meretz; Shas and "Torah and Shabbat Judaism" (formerly known as United Torah Judaism); Hadash and the National Democratic Assembly (often referred to by its Hebrew acronym, "Balad"), both primarily Arab parties; and Yisrael Beitenu and Likud. For example, if all of Israel's five million eligible voters cast valid votes, then a party would need to win 100,000 votes to cross the two percent threshold. Under this scenario, 41,666 votes would be required to secure a Knesset seat. A just-at-the-threshold party would thus secure two seats, and have some 16,668 "excess votes" that could be used by its partner party to obtain an additional seat. Results are usually official (and published in the Official Gazette) ahead of the eight-day period permitted under Israeli law. -------------- Security Arrangements and Contingencies -------------- ¶9. Beinisch commented that modern Israeli elections differ substantially from earlier elections in Israeli history. During the eras of Ben Gurion and Begin, election campaigns took to the streets. Now, she said, security precautions prevent many Israeli leaders from taking their messages to the markets and streets as in times past. Beinisch noted that Israeli police will monitor all Israeli polling stations via satellite communications. Beinisch said that she is empowered to cope with contingencies on Election Day, but that she does not anticipate any that would require the extension of the voting hours. Instead, she expressed concern about ensuring adequate voting arrangements for some 500 residents of Ghajar (in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan) and for some Negev communities that are under quarantine due to avian flu. ¶10. Bio Note: Judge Beinisch is slated to become president of the Supreme Court when Judge Barak retires in September ¶2006. She is energetic and enthusiastic about the institutions of Israeli democracy. Her current legal adviser, Tomer Weissman, who also attended the meeting, will be pursuing an LLM degree at New York University in the fall of 2006. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES