Mayor of Arad reveals: How the vote-buying system works in the Arab sector

Mayor of Arad Yair Maayan reveals a vote-buying system in the Arab sector: party representatives pay families with envelopes of cash or rechargeable fuel cards based on the number of eligible voters. According to him, the system is known from previous elections but this time its scope is exceptional. The police investigation uncovered envelopes with tens of thousands of shekels and Ra'am ballots, along with suspicion of foreign funding from enemy countries.

Mayor of Arad Yair Maayan describes an organized system for buying votes in the Arab sector, involving the transfer of envelopes of cash or rechargeable fuel cards to entire families according to the number of eligible voters in them. According to him, the system is not new and also operated in previous elections, but this time its scope is exceptional: "they went all in." The remarks come against the backdrop of a police investigation into suspicion of election bribery in Arab society, during which envelopes with tens of thousands of shekels and ballots of the Ra'am party were seized. Channel commentator Noam Amir revealed a suspicion of foreign funding from enemy countries amounting to millions of shekels. Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded that the Shin Bet investigate the heads of the Arab parties. The Likud party submitted hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence to the authorities.