The BBC reports that the court overturned the exclusion of the United Arab List, the Joint List and two of their members, allowing them to contest next week’s national election.
Israel’s Supreme Court overturned the disqualification of the United Arab List, the Joint List and two of their members this month, the BBC reported on 22 October. The decision restores their eligibility to contest the national election after the Central Elections Committee excluded them.
The committee, which the BBC describes as dominated by the governing coalition, alleged that the lists and members broke a law banning candidates who deny Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. The parties and their representatives strongly denied the allegation.
The United Arab List is an Islamist party led by Mansour Abbas. The Joint List brings together three secular parties. Both are Arab-majority groupings in a country where Arab citizens account for about a fifth of the population, according to the BBC.
The national election is due the following week, according to the BBC’s 22 October report.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alliance leads Gadi Eisenkot’s in partial projections, but neither reaches the 61-seat majority. Official results are due on November 4, while coalition negotiations could take considerably longer.
3 min
Projections for the October 27 parliamentary election put Gadi Eisenkot’s allies on 52 seats and Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc on 50, leaving both needing more support to reach the 61-seat majority.
2 min
With 55% of votes counted on 28 October, the election committee’s partial figures put Gadi Eisenkot’s alliance at 49 seats. Both blocs remain below the 61-seat majority, leaving the final count and coalition talks ahead.
3 min
