Israel's High Court voided the Knesset's election of Netanyahu's personal lawyer as State Comptroller after coalition lawmakers photographed their secret ballots; Justice Minister then urged the government to ignore the ruling
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On 3 June 2026 the Knesset elected attorney Michael Rabello, Prime Minister Netanyahu's personal lawyer, as State Comptroller 61-57 in a second round, after reports that Likud MKs were told or pressured to photograph their secret ballots; Speaker Amir Ohana called any such instruction illegal but declined to ban phones, and some MKs filmed their votes. On 2 July 2026 a five-justice High Court panel unanimously invalidated the vote over a fundamental defect in ballot secrecy and ordered a new election; the Knesset, Likud and Netanyahu had argued there was no proof of coercion. On 8 July Justice Minister Yariv Levin told Kol Berama radio that Rabello should take the post and that there should be no new vote, a position he said the whole coalition shared.
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- The Jerusalem Post
High Court unanimously invalidated Michael Rabello's election as state comptroller
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