'2 rounds for election of president, comptroller'

Knesset elections for president or state comptroller will no longer go to a third round of voting, according to bill.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Shimon Peres 370 (photo credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Shimon Peres 370
(photo credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Knesset elections for president or state comptroller will no longer go to a third round of voting, according to a bill authorized for its first reading by the Knesset Law, Constitution and Justice Committee on Wednesday.
The current law says the president and state comptroller must be elected by a 61-MK majority. If this does not happen in a first or second round of voting, the candidate with a plurality of the vote in the third round wins.
The new bill, proposed by MKs Yariv Levin (Likud), Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), Uri Maklev (UTJ), Yohanan Plesner (Kadima) and Avraham Michaeli (Shas) forgoes the third round, allowing a future president or comptroller to be elected by a plurality in the second round. In addition, only the two candidates with the most votes in the first round can run in the second round.
The legislation was scheduled for a late-night first reading in the plenum at press time. It will then undergo further committee review and two more readings.