Israel's National Election Commission dismisses allegations of election fraud raised by Netanyahu

(Cairo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = The Israel Election Commission dismissed allegations of election fraud by Arab political parties raised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel's Central Election Commission announced on the 4th (local time) that it was confident that the announced election results accurately reflected the will of voters, as a result of conducting an audit of 9,069 polling stations following objections related to voting in the general election.

In a statement, the National Election Commission emphasized, “We reviewed all complaints submitted by political parties, and there were no results suggesting that the fairness of the election was undermined.”

The National Election Commission's standing committee also confirmed and resolved the results of the general election on this day through a vote of members.

In the standing committee vote, members representing the centrist Yeshi Atid and Blue and White parties voted in favor, but members representing the right-wing Likud and Shas parties abstained.

The approval bill was passed with Standing Committee Chairman Noam Solberg casting the final vote in favor of ratifying the election results.

Previously, Prime Minister Netanyahu raised suspicions of election fraud by Arab political parties, citing an incident in which several people in possession of cash envelopes were arrested on the 27th of last month, the day of the election.

He also claimed that Arab lawmakers received funding from Qatar, similar to allegations made against his associates in the past.

The prevailing interpretation is that this is a move to check the Arab community, which has emerged as a casting vote entity by advancing in this election in which the pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu blocs failed to secure a majority of seats, and to thwart future cooperation between the anti-Netanyahu camp and Arab political parties.

Regarding reports on the 2nd that the head of the Shin Bet, a domestic intelligence agency under Prime Minister Netanyahu's influence, had requested an investigation into an Arab political party, Israel's Prosecutor General Ghali Baharab-Miara drew a line by saying, "We will not investigate anyone without evidence."

During the discussion on forming a coalition after the general election, suspicions of election fraud emerged as a hot potato.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's ruling Likud party criticized the prosecutor general for obstructing the investigation and trying to cover up the serious case of election interference by foreign forces.

On the other hand, Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli army chief of staff who leads a center-right coalition and aims to end Netanyahu's long-term rule, criticized the Likud Party for attempting a pogrom against democracy.

Meanwhile, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog is scheduled to receive the official results of the general election around noon on this day.

President Herzog will then have to decide who to give priority in forming a coalition government between Prime Minister Netanyahu and his rival Eisenkot.

In the 120-seat parliament, both Netanyahu's camp (53 seats) and Eisenkot's camp (48 seats) failed to achieve a majority (61 seats).

If Eisenkot joins hands with a minority Arab party (19 seats), it is possible to secure a majority.

Arab political parties significantly increased their number of seats in this election due to antipathy toward the Netanyahu government. However, some in the opposition are reluctant to rely on votes from non-Jewish lawmakers.

Youssef Jabarin, leader of the Joint List, the largest Arab party in the next parliament, emphasized that the opposition party must accept political reality and work together to oust Netanyahu.