Likud Plans Legal Challenge to Election Results Citing Voter Tracking

The Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is preparing a legal appeal against the results of the recent Israeli election. Party lawyer Ilan Bombach informed The Times of Israel on Saturday that the challenge will be based on allegations that Arab political parties used electronic tracking methods to boost voter turnout. This practice was prohibited by the High Court of Justice shortly before the voting took place. The party has not yet decided if the appeal will contest the entire outcome or focus on specific aspects of the vote.

Netanyahu and other members of the outgoing coalition have frequently described the October 27 elections as stolen. They point to record levels of Arab turnout, which they argue helped deprive their bloc of a parliamentary majority. The coalition cites various irregularities, including claims of bribery, intimidation, and forgery, as evidence supporting their position.

According to Bombach, Likud observers filed approximately 700 complaints on election day. These complaints alleged that Arab party activists utilized a smartphone application to monitor voter participation. The lawyer asserted that each instance of this activity affected hundreds or thousands of votes. Since the High Court had banned the practice, Bombach maintained that the Arab parties gained an unfair advantage in the final hours of the campaign.

The legal complaint is expected to be filed with the Jerusalem District Court. The timing of the filing is likely to be near the deadline, which is set for November 17. This date marks the last day such appeals can be submitted. The appeal may also incorporate findings from two ongoing law enforcement investigations into electoral fraud, depending on the status of those probes when the documents are prepared.

An independent organization known as the Civilian Election Guard reported 374 instances of apparent illegal app usage during the election. However, the group noted that the highest number of violations involved Likud activists and polling station workers, who accounted for 32 percent of the incidents. Other parties included in the report were United Torah Judaism at 10 percent, Shas at 6 percent, Ra’am at 2 percent, and the Joint List at 1 percent.

The High Court’s ban on such apps was issued ten days before the election, a decision that drew sharp criticism from Likud ministers. The party and ultra-Orthodox groups have relied heavily on this data in recent cycles to drive turnout. Likud lawyers had argued in court that banning the practice would severely harm their election day operations.

Channel 12 reported on Friday that the two main investigations into election interference appear to be weakening. The first case involved three Bedouin activists arrested on election morning for allegedly bribing voters to support the Ra’am party. This case is expected to be closed unless new evidence emerges, and the suspects have since been released.

The second investigation concerned alleged foreign funding for the Joint List. While early media reports suggested involvement from Qatar, intelligence material provided by the Shin Bet security service to police did not mention the Gulf state. Instead, the funds were believed to originate from the West Bank, though the specific source remained unclear.

Likud and other coalition parties attempted to delay the official certification of results to President Isaac Herzog, citing these ongoing probes. Noam Solberg, head of the Central Election Committee, rejected this move, stating that the allegations were not significant enough to alter the outcome and criticizing the stigmatization of Arab voters.

Following the confirmation of results, President Herzog began consultations with party leaders to determine who would receive the mandate to form a government. Ultimately, 67 MKs backed Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar opposition party, while 46 recommended Netanyahu. The seven-seat United Torah Judaism party declined to recommend a candidate, breaking from its long-standing support of the Prime Minister. Herzog announced on Saturday night that Eisenkot would be tasked with attempting to form a government starting Sunday.