Two months into the war, the discussions surrounding the postponement of the local authority elections following the war raise several questions, whether to hold another postponement to the month of February or leave them at the proposed date and whether the lists should be reopened and refreshed.
After two months of war, the entire public is preoccupied with the security situation, senior cabinet officials clash with each other and the viewers at home are tired of what is happening. Is leaving the voting date on the set date the right option or should the electorate be allowed to digest the burning news that is currently on the agenda.
To this end, we chose several bodies that will try to answer the complex issue, we turned to the Israel Democracy Institute, Shittah Institute, the Kohelet Policy Forum, and the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel.
"Postponement to a later date will require completely new elections"
Dr. Asaf Shapira, head of the program for political reforms and Dr. Ariel Finkelstein, head of the local government project at the institute claim that the position on the issue is complex. "Our position on the issue of postponing the elections is complex. On the one hand, we believe that the elections should be postponed right now to the end of February 2024, in accordance with the mechanism established in the law in which the elections were postponed from the end of October."
According to them, "In light of the resumption of high-intensity fighting, along with the recruitment of some candidates and the lack of public attention, the ability to hold competitive elections at the end of January is questionable. Therefore, in order to increase certainty, it is necessary to decide now on postponing the elections."
"On the other hand," they explain, "every effort must be made to ensure that the elections are not postponed beyond the month of February. Periodic elections are a fundamental principle of the democratic regime, and another postponement must be allowed only in an extremely acute state of war, in which it will be clear to all relevant opinions that elections cannot be held, and this on basis of the opinions of the security officials."
A postponement to a later date could lead, among other things, to the retirement of candidates, harm especially new contestants, make the election campaign more expensive, and probably necessitate the holding of completely new elections in terms of the voter's book and the submission of nominations. Therefore, we believe that the elections should already be postponed until the end of February. At the same time, it is possible that in certain authorities that were severely affected by the war, it will be necessary to postpone the elections to a much later date."
The decision to postpone the elections to February is proportional
In the Kohelet Policy Forum they also support the position that the issue is complex. Dr. Moran Nagid, a senior colleague at the forum and an expert on local government issues, says that this is not a simple dilemma. According to her, "on the one hand, any postponement of the election date is a violation of democracy and gives an advantage to incumbent candidates over the new ones."
She also stated that "on the other hand, the reality is that there are settlements that are currently not functioning at all, there are over a hundred thousand evacuees from the north and the Gaza Strip envelope, and hundreds of thousands more conscripts, at least some of whom will not be able to vote because of the war. It seems that the decision to postpone the elections to February in the hope that the picture will clear up a bit by then is a proportionate decision."
There is no security obstacle to holding the elections on their upcoming date
The local government believes that the elections should be left on their original date, i.e. the month of January. "We held talks with a number of security officials, including the commander of the Home Front Command Major General Rafi Milo, in which it was made clear unequivocally that there is no security obstacle to holding the elections on time on January 30th, 2024, especially in light of the return of the education system to full operation and the maintenance of a school routine throughout the country, operation of construction sites, and the return of the economy to a full routine."
In conclusion, they state that "we are opposed to the attempts of foreign parties and cynical considerations that try to influence the democratic process. The local government is currently preparing an appeal to higher legal courts in order to preserve the municipal democracy which is the most stable in the State of Israel."
The Shittah Institute claims that a prolonged postponement could produce a new election system. "The local authority elections are the first and central expression of local democracy. Of course, the outbreak of the war, the massive mobilization of the reserves, and the evacuation of entire settlements, did not allow for an orderly election procedure to be held. But any further postponement should be seriously considered in light of the heavy consequences and conducted with great care, within broad political agreement and subject to the security situation in the various regions."
They also point out that "local authorities in Israel are currently in a situation that does not allow for regular and proper conduct, which ultimately constitutes harm to the residents and their needs. A prolonged postponement will also require the opening of all the lists and nominations and will in fact create a completely new election system, which will not benefit either the contestants or the residents So that any change beyond what has already been decided and published is complex and has far-reaching consequences. We will soon publish a comprehensive position paper on the subject."
