{"id":579801,"date":"2026-08-09T21:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/579801\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T21:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:34:18","slug":"concerns-mount-over-integrity-of-israels-upcoming-october-elections-elections-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/579801\/","title":{"rendered":"Concerns mount over integrity of Israel\u2019s upcoming October elections | Elections News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Concerns are being raised about the integrity of Israel\u2019s upcoming general election with politicians, civil society groups and even President Isaac Herzog warning of potential political interference in the vote.<\/p>\n

Israelis will ultimately decide the country\u2019s next government and prime minister when they vote in legislative elections on October 27, which will see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempt to win another term in office.<\/p>\n

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But there are mounting concerns over the future of Israeli democracy amid apparent attempts by Netanyahu\u2019s government to entrench its power.<\/p>\n

A poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that almost three-quarters of Jewish Israelis were concerned about the integrity of the 2026 election, while 43 percent said they were optimistic about the future of democratic rule in Israel.<\/p>\n

\"Israel'sIsrael\u2019s President Isaac Herzog has warned of both violence and potential interference during Israel\u2019s election in October [Abir Sultan\/Pool\/AFP]<\/p>\n

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Herzog have all raised concerns about the vote.<\/p>\n

In a televised speech in mid-July, Herzog raised concerns about interference in the election and the threat of violence following a meeting with the heads of the electoral commission and internal security service, Shin Bet.<\/p>\n

Using biblical stories as examples of the dangers of internecine infighting, Herzog pleaded with the public not to \u201ccross red lines\u201d during the campaign season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI turn to elected representatives, activists and all candidates from all parties, and demand that you do not cross red lines. Do not turn rivals into enemies,\u201d Herzog continued. \u201cI call on the people of Israel, in a clear voice: Remember that elections are not a civil war.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governing coalition will continue its campaign, begun in 2021, to free itself of judicial oversight, an issue that has bitterly divided the nation<\/a>. Netanyahu \u2013 himself on trial for corruption<\/a> \u2013 is also seeking to defer an independent inquiry into the Hamas-led incursions of October 2023, which led to criticism of his handling of security issues.<\/p>\n

Growing international criticism of Israel\u2019s genocidal war in Gaza and settler violence across the occupied West Bank<\/a>, as well as Israel\u2019s multi-front war against neighbours in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iran, will also be hot topics in the election.<\/p>\n

The violence is happening<\/p>\n

Israeli Member of the Knesset (MK) Ofer Cassif, who had a no confidence motion in June, told Al Jazeera that violence has become a part of the Israeli political landscape, particularly in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no need to speculate about the potential for violence, it\u2019s already happening,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing anti-government activists, and not just Palestinians, but Israelis being arrested and even judges harassed by far-right pro-government militias.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IsraeliIsraeli Knesset member Ofer Cassif (L) confronts security forces as Palestinians, foreigners and Israeli activists attend a memorial ceremony for Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen on the anniversary of his death [File: AFP]<\/p>\n

Ofer said that \u201cproblematic\u201d candidates, such as members of his left-wing Hadash Party, were preparing for government attempts to bar them from the election. He also warned of growing unrest in the run-up to election day itself, which could see attempts to suppress voting in areas with large Palestinian citizen of Israel populations, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen there\u2019s after the election itself, suppose \u2013 purely for analytical purposes \u2013 we say it goes against the government. What then? What if they refuse to leave their offices? Who\u2019s going to remove them, Ben-Gvir\u2019s police or Netanyahu\u2019s Shin Bet?\u201d he asked. \u201cThey\u2019re already conquered\u2026 This is a very dangerous time we\u2019re approaching.\u201c<\/p>\n

Perception and reality<\/p>\n

There has even been criticism from members of Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing Likud Party, some of whom are against the appointment of Dean Livne as acting head of the Central Elections Committee. MK Avichay Buaron called him \u201cclearly politically biased\u201d, while Diaspora Affairs Minister, Amichai Chikli, said his appointment casts \u201ca heavy shadow\u201d over the election\u2019s integrity.<\/p>\n

The coalition<\/a> has cut the committee\u2019s budget by 50 million New Israeli Shekels (NIS) or (roughly $15m), even though there have been multiple warnings of foreign interference and the risks posed by artificial intelligence in the vote.<\/p>\n

The government has been accused of resisting efforts to expand access to voting to care homes. Accusations have also been levelled at the office of Transportation Minister, Miri Regev, of limiting flights into Ben Gurion Airport before election day, which could hinder left-leaning overseas voters from flying into Israel and casting votes against Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

\"AA demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Israeli President Isaac Herzog pretends to feed a banana to another demonstrator with a Benjamin Netanyahu mask after the PM requested a pardon in his corruption trial [File: Amir Cohen\/Reuters]<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a tension between whatever governing party is in power and a fair election,\u201d said Therese Pearce Laanela of the intergovernmental electoral monitoring agency, International IDEA. \u201cIn the main, their responsibilities are twofold: to ensure the legislation is in place to hold the election and to make the resources available to ensure they\u2019re carried out fairly. What they mustn\u2019t do, is undermine the electoral authority or criticise it in public\u2026 There can be a disconnect between perception and reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political analyst Ori Goldberg said that many Israelis now see Netanyahu as a constant in political life. Some attribute the powers of a \u201cwizard\u201d to him, able to conjure a fresh tactic, or way out of any situation during every Israeli election.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople always expect Netanyahu to do whatever it takes to stay in power, whatever the cost,\u201d Goldberg said. \u201cEvery Israeli election is portrayed as somehow seismic, but this one might actually be. If this coalition is returned to power, it\u2019s Israel telling the world that it\u2019s OK with multiple wars, with enforced starvation \u2013 and it\u2019s OK with genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Concerns are being raised about the integrity of Israel\u2019s upcoming general election with politicians, civil society groups and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,4410,50,85,46,44,47,43,45,238],"class_list":["post-579801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-elections","tag-gaza","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israel-palestine-conflict","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-occupied-west-bank","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}