Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV1184
2006-03-24 17:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

A CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMITTEE PRIMER ON MARCH 28

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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


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.

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