When polls opened on Sunday 11 Kislev 5773 for the Likud Party’s primary elections, there were reports of “minor computer glitches” in the new computerized polling system. Seeking to facilitate the process and eliminate foul play, Likud hired the services of the Aman Company, which set up the nationwide polling system for the election.

As the morning hours advanced it became increasingly clear that the minor glitches were widespread, and later in the day there were reports of major system failure. The word most commonly heard to describe the new computerized system was “farce”. By the time polls closed at 22:00, Likud officials reported 51% of eligible party members voted. Hundreds if not thousands of the eligible voters were unable to cast their ballots due to system failure. There were hundreds of stories of Likud members traveling from one polling station to another, only to learn the computerized system was malfunctioning nationwide.

The party’s Central Election Committee met at 22:00 to discuss how to proceed, deciding to offer another day of voting today, Monday 12 Kislev. Fifty polling stations will operate today from 11:00-21:00 to permit Likud members unable to vote on Sunday to do so today.

Likud officials add they are contemplating a major lawsuit against the Aman Company, whose system simple failed miserably despite promises it would eliminate the need for hand ballots as was done in past years. Senior Aman official Tzvika Raz blamed the system wide failure of hackers. Likud technical officials however rejected the hackers excuse, explaining the company failed to allot sufficient bandwidth for the voting system, resulting in the crash.

While the results of Sunday’s vote are not being revealed, officials have leaked to the media that the party’s top 10 slots have already been determined.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)