Netanyahu’s party seeks to impede Israeli expat voting in upcoming close-fought elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party on Wednesday petitioned the electoral commission to block initiatives aimed at helping Israelis who live abroad return to vote in upcoming close-fought elections.

Israel’s electoral law does not allow citizens residing outside the country to vote abroad, except for diplomats and emissaries sent by certain organisations. The Central Bureau of Statistics estimates there are 600,000 Israelis living abroad.

Government opponents have been working for several weeks to encourage voters to come home to cast their ballots, hoping to strengthen the anti-Netanyahu camp in elections scheduled for October 27.

Initiatives include offering discounted plane tickets, assisting expatriates with the administrative procedures required to vote and organizing their transport from the airport.

Attorney Ilan Bombach, representing Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, filed an appeal on Wednesday with the chairman of the Central Elections Committee demanding an end to these practices.

The petition specifically targets the US-based AID Coalition, an organization which says it is aimed at “strengthening and preserving the democratic foundations of the State of Israel” and is behind the “Fly&Vote” scheme.

The petition also targets the opposition Democrats party.

In his appeal, seen , Bombach likens these methods to an “electoral bribe” and argues that they violate the law on party financing.

Likud maintains that even if the passengers themselves pay for their plane tickets, the “Fly&Vote” scheme grants illicit benefits, such as discounted fares negotiated with airlines through group bookings.

The AID Coalition, which says it is an apolitical organization, said it had received and would examine the appeal from Likud.

It accused the party of seeking “to prevent Israeli citizens — those who took a plane to come and fight on October 7, who pay taxes and are involved in the life of their homeland — from being granted the right and duty to take part in deciding the future of the State of Israel.”

According to polls, the elections are expected to be tightly contested between the bloc led by Netanyahu and that of his main rival, centrist Gadi Eisenkot.