Arab MKs from the Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am-Balad parties had harsh words for the chairman of the Central Election Committee, Justice Chanan Meltzer, as Meltzer has called on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to launch an investigation into alleged widespread election fraud in the Arab sector.

“When the Central Elections Committee had to demand an exhaustive investigation of the illegal placement of the cameras at the polls [by Likud poll watchers], Meltzer chose to align with the inciting camera project and rely on material that was collected while undermining the integrity of the elections,” the Arab MKs say.

They added: “It is unthinkable that the chairman of the committee adopts a tendentious and unfounded report by the Likud representatives, without examining the committee itself – and transfer it to police for an investigation. Putting the cameras hidden in polling stations in the Arab communities is just another element in the ruling party’s attack against the very citizenship of the Arabs in the country. But the fact that the chairman of the election committee is backing them is a new crossing of the gap between the Arab public and the state.”

The Arab MKs also claim that the Likud marked the goal, the lowering of the percentage of Arab voters, and the chairman of the Elections Committee, while seriously harming public confidence. “We are the ones who demanded that the cameras and material photographed be collected immediately, and we reiterate our demand that an investigation be opened against what clearly has already been proven – violation of the election law and infringement of their freedom.”

Earlier, the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Justice Chanan Meltzer, appealed to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and Acting Police Commissioner Moti Cohen to open a criminal investigation into ballot forgery, mainly in the Arab sector.

“In view of my decision to stop the use of hidden cameras in the polling stations, and with the guidance of the State Prosecutor’s Office, it is appropriate that the police concentrate all the known materials” wrote Meltzer. “Most of the events and reports seem to justify the opening of criminal investigations.”

“At the polls in Kasra-Samia, it appears that more than 97% of the registered voters voted and all the results of the vote were round numbers,” he says. “The exceptional voter turnout combined with the round and precise numbers is puzzling and requires investigation.”

In another example, the Afula ballot box was presented in the “Election Purity” campaign conducted by the committee: “In a thorough examination, it was found that the registration in the minutes of the Ballot Committee did not substantively match the counting of votes or even the ballots. This requires an investigation into whether the members of the Ballot Committee acted contrary to the regulations.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)