Likud judge to decide Dichter-Hotovely fight

Dichter was declared the winner of the slot following the December 31 primary.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
A man votes in the Likud’s internal elections. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
A man votes in the Likud’s internal elections.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Likud elections committee judge Menahem Ne’eman is expected to make a final decision Monday about who won the coveted 20th slot on the party’s list for the March 17 election, former public security minister Avi Dichter or Deputy Transportation, Science and Technology minister Tzipi Hotovely.
Dichter was declared the winner of the slot following the December 31 primary.
Hotovely was given the next slot on the list available to a current and former MK: The 26th slot, which does not guarantee that she would enter the next Knesset.
The 21st to 25th slots are reserved for newcomers and representatives of regions and minorities. The Likud had 22 seats in a Panels Research poll taken Wednesday for The Jerusalem Post and its Hebrew sister publication, Maariv Sof Hashavua.
Both Hotovely and Dichter have asked for recounts in multiple polling stations and for some polling stations to be disqualified. Dichter has alleged that there has been criminal wrongdoing.
Ne’eman, who is the former deputy chief judge of the Haifa District Court, downplayed the allegations in an Israel Radio interview. The poll that could decide the contest is one that arrived from Yarka with no votes even though dozens were counted.