Section 86 Law Allows Court to Void Israel's Elections

The Israeli Knesset can legally cancel nationwide election results if a court finds that foreign funding or bribery affected the vote. This power is detailed in Section 86 of the Knesset Elections Law. The provision allows judges to order new elections across the country or at specific polling stations.

Legal experts note that the existence of suspicions does not automatically trigger a cancellation. The law does not provide for automatic disqualification based on campaign finance violations or the receipt of foreign money. An irregularity must be proven to have altered the outcome. Even then, the political establishment views the likelihood of a total nationwide annulment as very low.

If violations are proven at specific locations, the court can invalidate results only at those polling stations. This targeted approach is considered more probable than a full rerun. The court also has the option to correct the allocation of votes without holding a new election. It can recalculate seats among candidate lists or declare a different candidate the winner of a specific seat.

Several groups can file an appeal under the law. These include members of the Central Elections Committee, regional election committees, factions in the newly elected Knesset, individual MKs, and candidate lists that participated in the election. The attorney-general is also entitled to appeal. The attorney-general may file on behalf of the state.

An appeal must be filed with the Jerusalem Administrative Affairs Court within 14 days of the publication of election results. The court can extend this deadline in special circumstances, provided it records the reasons for the extension. A successful appeal does not necessarily paralyze the legislature. Section 86(h) states that an appeal will not delay the work of the Knesset.

Decisions made by the Knesset remain valid even if an appeal later changes the election results. If the Administrative Affairs Court annuls the elections nationwide, parties can appeal to the Supreme Court as a matter of right. This appeal would be heard by a panel of five justices or a larger panel with an odd number of members. This procedural step allows for a higher review of the decision to void the vote.

Likud and the Netanyahu bloc have used bribery allegations to challenge political moves involving the Joint List and Ra'am. This campaign aims to delegitimize options such as forming a minority government. The legal framework provides a path for these claims to be tested in court, but the burden of proof lies in demonstrating that the irregularities changed the final count.