Likud warns: Delay in Supreme Court hearing will postpone primaries by two weeks

The Likud party turned to the Supreme Court today, Wednesday, warning that if an immediate decision is not reached regarding the appeal concerning the candidacy of Knesset members and ministers in the districts, it will not be possible to hold the primaries on the scheduled date of August 17. The party claims that the delay could postpone the primaries by at least two weeks and jeopardize the entire election process. In a letter submitted to the court, signed by Likud's legal advisor, Adv. Ilan Bombach, it is written that "the printing activity of the voting materials is at the very threshold of the final hours in which it can still be completed by the planned date." The party warns that if the activity does not begin immediately, it will not be possible to complete the preparations required to hold the primaries on August 17.

It is further claimed that delaying the process will lead to "huge sums of money, millions of shekels, going down the drain" due to the preparations already made. The letter emphasizes that this is an extremely tight schedule, and every additional day of uncertainty makes it difficult to complete the logistical and technical preparations. The appeal comes against the backdrop of the legal process being conducted by MK Afif Abd, who requested to allow Knesset members and ministers to run in the district slots. The Tel Aviv District Court rejected his petition and upheld the decision of the Likud's Supreme Court, which determined that incumbent public officials would not be able to run in the districts.

Abd appealed to the Supreme Court, and Likud joined his position. According to the party, the Likud's court exceeded its authority when it canceled the change approved at the Likud convention. On the other hand, the previous decision was based on claims of irregularities that occurred during the voting and vote-counting process. The Supreme Court has already determined that the hearing on the appeal will take place tomorrow, August 13, after the party requested an urgent hearing. The judges noted that the District Court's verdict was given on August 10 and the appeal was filed the next day, so it was not possible to hold the hearing earlier.

Now, Likud warns that a late decision could create a broader problem: according to the letter, if the primaries are postponed, the deadline for filing appeals against the election results will be pushed until close to the date of submitting the Likud list to the Central Elections Committee for the 26th Knesset. The party claims that such a situation "puts the possibility of submitting the list on time at significant risk."

The implication is that the legal hearing scheduled for Thursday is not only about the question of whether Knesset members and ministers will be able to run in the districts. From Likud's perspective, the decision has a direct impact on the very ability to hold the primaries on time, after weeks of legal and internal struggles over the election regulations.

The primaries in Likud were set for August 17, and the internal system in the party has already undergone a series of legal and political upheavals. Among other things, a change in the regulations that allowed Knesset members and ministers to run in the districts passed at the convention by a slim majority of only five votes, and subsequently, petitions were filed that led to the intervention of the Likud's court and the legal process in the courts.