Court fines Knesset speaker for vacancy

Ten government workers lost whistleblower protection this summer because no state comptroller was in office to grant it. The position has been vacant since Matanyahu Englman finished his seven-year term in July. The High Court of Justice issued a sharp rebuke to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Tuesday for leaving the seat empty despite a July order to act quickly.

The conflict began when the High Court voided the initial first-round vote for comptroller. Judges found that several coalition lawmakers broke secret ballot rules by taking photos and videos of themselves while voting for Michael Rabello. A second round of voting was required to fix the error. Ohana refused to set a new date in August, saying he was proud of his decision to delay the process.

Petitioners asked the High Court to force the speaker to schedule the election. Justice Ruth Ronen wrote that respecting court rulings is a basic condition of democracy. She stated that this duty applies to everyone, but especially to governing authorities. Ronen noted that dismissing the petition does not mean the court approves of the speaker's conduct. She described the harm to the public interest and the rule of law as unacceptable when caused by a government official.

The judges rejected the demand for an immediate court-ordered vote. They said the timing was impractical because a general election occurred last week. The current legislative body is in its final days of recess before the new Knesset is sworn in next week. Precedent suggests that major decisions should generally be avoided during this period.

Ronen ordered Ohana and the Knesset to pay legal costs of NIS 10,000, about $3,160. This financial sanction addresses the speaker's defiance of the earlier court ruling. The delay damaged the standing of both the Knesset and the court, according to the written decision.

Political parties seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are treating the vacancy as urgent. Channel 12 reports that the opposition bloc led by Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot plans to call for a repeat election quickly. This move will happen once the 26th Knesset is sworn in next week.