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Last update - 02:41 12/01/2009
Elections in the shadow of war
By Ze'ev Segal
Tags: hamas, israel news, gaza 

Knesset elections are due to be held in less than a month. By law, any petitions seeking to disqualify party lists or individual candidates should be heard now, and in another two weeks, television and radio campaign advertisements - which will be harsh or extreme as always - are due to start.

But at the moment, while we are in the middle of a war, holding elections on schedule seems unreasonable. This is not the time for sharpening disagreements, or for every diplomatic or military move to arouse suspicions of being political in nature.

Postponing elections for 60 days would not, as has been claimed, be viewed as canceling this important democratic process. Extending a Knesset's term beyond the four years mandated by law - at the end of which the people are supposed to exercise their right to determine who will lead the country - could indeed be viewed as undermining democracy. But the current Knesset is far from completing its term.
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There are various interpretations of how large a majority is needed to postpone the elections, including one holding that 80 Knesset members are required, but even in that case, only "if there are special circumstances that prevent holding the elections on time." But since the Knesset has yet to complete its four-year term, it is not clear that the law requiring an 80-MK majority really applies to the current situation - in which the Knesset dissolved early, under a provision of the Basic Law on Government, because of the inability to form a new government after the prime minister resigned.

Nevertheless, any decision to postone the elections should be passed with widespread support by Knesset members, since this is an issue that ought to be beyond political disagreements. After all, without a postponement, soldiers and residents of the south could be deprived of the ability to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

If there is a problem with postponing the elections, it stems mainly from the fact that Israel has been led by a caretaker government for four months already, and a postponement would extend that government's tenure for at least another two months. Last week, the High Court of Justice ruled that a caretaker government may not appoint new judges, even if these are not political appointments. The court did not rule out appointing sitting judges to new posts - for instance, enabling the justice minister, with the Supreme Court president's consent, to appoint new lower-court presidents. But the overburdened court system is desperate for new judges.

This ruling is one example of the problems inherent in freezing all new civil-service appointments, as caretaker governments are supposed to do. It seems doubtful that such a freeze is actually necessary with regard to judicial appointments. But in any case, it is better that a caretaker government not remain in office for too long.

Nevertheless, this principle is not the top priority in the middle of a war that began as a response to attacks on our civilian population, and which a caretaker government has full authority to wage.

If the Knesset does not unite to postpone the elections, it must at least enact legislation that would enable residents of the south to vote anywhere in Israel, not only in their hometowns. Additionally, those responsible for conducting the voting among Israel Defense Forces soldiers must examine ways of ensuring that they are able to vote anywhere. No financial or technical consideration can justify infringing on the most important political right of all.

The economic crisis, the costs of the war and the expected costs of postwar reconstruction also justify canceling the national holiday on Election Day. Even though this holiday is guaranteed in the Basic Law on the Knesset, this provision can be annulled by an ordinary majority of Knesset members - and requiring employers to enable their employees to vote is all that is necessary.

Canceling the holiday should not significantly reduce voter turnout, and the savings are likely to exceed NIS 1 billion. Moreover, it would be sufficient to enact the change as a temporary measure applying only to the current election, in order to minimize possible objections.

Instituting this change would at least show that the Knesset is aware of what is going on around it.
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