‘Israeli’ MK Disqualified from Running as Part of Likud

By Staff, Agencies

Former member of the ‘Israeli’ entity’s parliament [Knesset] Amichai Chikli will not be able to run in the November 1 elections as part of the right-wing Likud party's slate, the Zionist Central Election Committee [CEC] head and High Court justice Yizhak Amit ruled on Wednesday.

Chikli was declared a defector from the right-wing Yamina party on April 25, which prevents him from running in elections with any party currently in the Knesset. 

Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu then tapped Chikli as the number 14 spot on the party's list. Before this, there were reports that Chikli was going to form his own party, stirring Likud concerns that he would siphon votes from right-wing parties and then not pass the electoral threshold, thus wasting ballots. 

MK Gaby Lasky, of the left-wing Meretz party, petitioned the CEC claiming that Chikli did not resign early enough to be allowed to run on a different list. On Wednesday, the CEC agreed with Lasky and ruled that Chikli could not run with Likud.