The High Court of Justice issued a conditional order this evening (Sunday) demanding that the Knesset explain why Michael Rabilo's appointment as State Comptroller should not be revoked - and that repeat elections for the position be held.
It was also decided that another hearing on the petition will be held in about a week by an expanded panel of five judges.
At noon, Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana informed the High Court of Justice that he would not hold a repeat vote for the position of State Comptroller.
""The Knesset has spoken," Ohana wrote on the X network.
In a statement to the High Court on behalf of the Knesset, it was stated: "The Speaker of the Knesset wished to announce that for all the reasons detailed in the preliminary response to the petition and in the discussion, he decided not to hold a repeat vote for the elections for the State Comptroller.".
The announcement comes after the dramatic hearing held last Thursday in the High Court of Justice, on petitions seeking to invalidate Rabillo's election. The judges suggested to the Knesset that repeat elections be held and asked to accept its position to date.
At the heart of the petitions are the claims that Likud MKs recorded their votes behind the curtain, in a way that compromised the secrecy of the proceedings.
Judge Noam Solberg said during the hearing that there is an "unwanted cloud" surrounding the selection process, and clarified that the panel intends to issue a conditional order on the issue of the secrecy of the vote.
He said that some of the votes recorded appear "on their face problematic," especially given the position of the Knesset's legal counsel on the matter.
The petitioners claimed that the recording of the vote turned the process into a kind of "loyalty test" and undermined the purpose of the secret ballot, which was intended to allow Knesset members to vote without political pressure.
Knesset and Likud representatives rejected the claims, claiming that no instructions were given to Knesset members to photograph ballots. According to them, if such instructions had been given, this would have been a much broader phenomenon and not just a limited number of Knesset members.
