Deri asks court to allow him to run for mayor

Appeal comes less than 2 weeks after election committee chairman said he had no power to determine such eligibility.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
aryeh deri 224.88 AJ (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
aryeh deri 224.88 AJ
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Seven weeks before the Jerusalem mayoral elections, former Shas chairman Aryeh Deri on Tuesday asked a Jerusalem court to declare him eligible to run for mayor of the capital despite his 1999 conviction for crimes involving moral turpitude, his attorney said. The appeal comes less than two weeks after the chairman of the Central Elections Committee said it was not within his authority to determine if Deri could run in the November 11 election in light of convictions for accepting bribes, breach of trust and aggravated fraud, for which Deri served 22 months in prison. On Tuesday, Deri asked the Jerusalem District Court to allow him to run even though the requisite seven-year "cooling-off" period since his release from jail is not over until July 2009. "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 reads. Deri's attorney, Yoav Hirsh, said the law should not apply because the seven-year waiting period was legislated after his client's prison term began. He added that the petition asked the court to hold a hearing as soon as possible due to the time constraints. The Jerusalem court decision would probably not be final. Government watchdog groups and two left-wing Jerusalem city councilmen have pledged to petition to the High Court of Justice if Deri is allowed to run. 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 MK Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism. Russian-Israeli tycoon Arkadi Gaydamak has not officially declared his candidacy despite repeated pronouncements that he is running for mayor.