Report: Likud plans to broadcast claims of fraud and irregularities in Arab community elections

The Likud party intends to broadcast claims of fraud and irregularities in voting within the Arab community ahead of the Knesset elections, according to Israel's Channel 12. Potential claims include women wearing niqabs, separate voting hours in the Negev, and the ages of election observers. The article clarifies that the Central Elections Committee's regulations govern these matters and no loopholes exist.

The Likud party intends to broadcast claims of fraud and irregularities in voting within the Arab community, ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections on Tuesday and after the counting and announcement of results, as reported by Israel's Channel 12 on Friday evening. Likud is examining a series of issues that could be the focus of its claims, including women arriving at polling stations wearing niqabs, voting procedures during separate hours for men and women in the Negev, and the ages of election integrity observers. The Central Elections Committee's regulations stipulate that a woman arriving at a polling station wearing a niqab is required to uncover her face for identity verification; to preserve her privacy and dignity, verification can be conducted only in the presence of a woman and behind a screen. Thus, election regulations do not include any exemption from face-revealing for identity verification of women wearing niqabs. Regarding the organized arrival of men and women at polling stations during different hours in the Negev, there is no prohibition on this as long as it does not prevent other voters from casting their ballots during the official operating hours of the polling station; the Elections Committee sets the voting hours, not entities within the community. Additionally, the issue of election observers' ages is pre-regulated, with minimum age requirements for this role uniformly set across the country.