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Viewing cable 06TELAVIV1184, A CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMITTEE PRIMER ON MARCH 28

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TELAVIV1184 2006-03-24 17:18 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tel Aviv
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
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