[56091] Storm surrounding the appointment of Dean Livne as acting CEO of the Central Elections Committee

Turmoil at the Elections Committee: Appointment of interim CEO sparks sharp criticism

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee for the 26th Knesset, Judge Noam Sohlberg, announced his decision to appoint attorney Dean Livne, who previously served as the committee's legal advisor, as the acting CEO of the committee ahead of the upcoming elections, as reported by Amit Segal, YINONEWS, Kol HaHadashot on 🆃🅴🅻🅴🅶🆁🅰️🅼🔴, and War Room.

The appointment drew immediate backlash. Moti Kastel reported that attorney Ilan Bombach, on behalf of the Likud party, is demanding the cancellation of the appointment and the immediate formation of a professional search committee. The sharpest criticism came from Minister Amichai Chikli, who harshly attacked Judge Sohlberg: According to Chikli, this is a "scandalous political appointment" due to Livne's alleged ties to left-wing organizations and claims he previously raised against the national camp. Chikli added that the appointment "casts a heavy shadow over the integrity of the elections."

Simultaneously, high tension is evident in the political system regarding the issue of election integrity. In an interview with War Room (which is identified with positions critical of the government), the Chairman of The Democrats, Yair Golan, argued that "the greatest danger is that Netanyahu will try to disrupt the free elections" and called for appropriate preparations.

The appointment saga comes at the height of a sensitive period leading up to the elections, as every administrative decision within this committee receives close scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle, amid mutual fears of election result tampering.