Deri appeals to J'lem court to allow him to run for mayor

With time running out, Shas strongman faces uphill legal battle to take part in November 11 race.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
aryeh deri 224.88 AJ (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
aryeh deri 224.88 AJ
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Six weeks before the Jerusalem mayoral race, former Shas leader Aryeh Deri on Tuesday asked a Jerusalem court to declare him eligible to run in the municipal elections despite his past convictions, his attorney said. The latest legal action comes less than two weeks after the chairman of the Central Election Committee said that it was not within his authority to determine if Deri could run in the November 11 Jerusalem mayoral elections in light of his recent conviction. In the petition filed in the Jerusalem District Court, the charismatic Shas strongman asked the court to authorize him to run in the race even though the requisite seven-year "cooling off" period since his release from jail before entering public service had not passed. "With only weeks left until the election, and the time for campaigning at hand, the petitioner has no option but to appeal to the court and ask that he be declared eligible to run in the municipal elections," the petition states. Deri, who served a two-year prison term for accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust, is facing a legal struggle over whether his past criminal record prevents him from running for pubic office this year due to his conviction. By law, a politician who has been convicted of a crime that bears "moral turpitude" - such as Deri's offenses - cannot run for political office until a seven-year period elapses from his release from prison. The seven-year period ends in 2009. Deri's attorney Yoav Hirsh said that the law should not apply in his case because it was passed after Deri's prison term began. He added that the petition asks the court to hold a hearing on the case as soon as possible due to the time constraints. The Jerusalem court decision will not be final. Government watchdog groups and two left-wing city councilmen have pledged to petition the High Court of Justice against any ruling allowing Deri to run in the elections. Candidates have until the second week of October to declare they are taking part in the race. The two declared candidates in the elections are Jerusalem opposition leader Nir Barkat, and UTJ MK Meir Porush, who is replacing Mayor Uri Lupolianksi as the haredi party's candidate. Russian-Israeli tycoon Arkadi Gaydamak has not officially declared his candidacy in the race despite repeated pronouncements that he is running in the election.