Supreme Court orders repeat election for state comptroller

Israel's Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a new election must be held for the position of State Comptroller, finding that the secrecy of the vote was fundamentally compromised during the second round of balloting. Deputy Court President Noam Sohlberg wrote that respondents had failed to explain how a vote documented on video could be reconciled with the secret ballot requirement set out in Basic Law and the State Comptroller Law.

Sohlberg said the flaw extended beyond procedure, noting the interpretation offered by the vote's defenders ran counter to common sense in treating openly recorded votes as secret. Justice Canfi-Steinitz identified the central failure as Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana's decision to permit recording during the vote, while Justice Barak-Erez said mobile phones should have been barred from the voting area altogether.

The ruling follows an interim order issued Wednesday suspending the appointment of attorney Michael Rabello as comptroller pending judgment. With outgoing comptroller Matanyahu Englman set to step down, the office is now without a sitting comptroller.

Ohana said earlier this week the Knesset would not hold a repeat vote, declaring on X that "the Knesset has already spoken." The dispute traces back to the vote's second round, when opposition lawmakers alleged coalition members were pressured to photograph their ballots — an accusation reported to involve Likud faction director Aliza Barashi, which she and coalition chairman Ofir Katz have denied. Knesset Legal Advisor Sagit Afik said she advised against allowing phones near the ballot box, though the Knesset Secretary maintained he lacked authority to enforce such a restriction.

Reaction split along political lines. Opposition leader Naftali Bennett called the appointment of "the prime minister's personal attorney" to the comptroller's post a serious error and accused the coalition of mismanagement. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced the ruling as "wild anti-democratic conduct" by the courts and vowed to pursue judicial reform. Democrats chairman Yair Golan urged opposition parties to unite behind a single candidate for the repeat vote.