UTJ’s 8th placed candidate likely to enter to the 22nd Knesset
Pindrus was the unlucky UTJ MK, placed eight on the party list, who lost his job as the result of this realignment
By JEREMY SHARONCoalition talks between UTJ, Likud and Shas (photo credit: UTJ)
United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindrus will likely find himself inside the 22nd Knesset during its four year term one way or another, barring a third round of elections, despite having been pushed out by the narrowest of margins on Wednesday.UTJ lost a seat and Likud gained one, after the Central Elections Committee took into consideration voter fraud allegations regarding six ballots in the North in its final election count.Pindrus was the unlucky UTJ MK, having been placed eighth on the party list, and losing his job as the result of this realignment.If the party ends up joining the new government, then an MK appointed to a deputy-ministerial position will likely resign to allow the next candidate on UTJ’s list to enter the Knesset, in accordance with the so-called Norwegian law.This would see Pindrus swiftly restored to the Knesset.Should UTJ not enter the government, which is a distinct possibility given Yisrael Beytenu and Blue and White’s promises to exclude them from a coalition, Pindrus would have to wait a bit longer to get into the Knesset.An agreement signed before the April election between the two constituent parties of UTJ, hassidic Agudat Yisrael and non-hassidic Degel Hatorah, could see Pindrus restored to the Knesset at some stage during the current term.UTJ split its electoral list equally, with alternating candidates from Agudah and Degel populating the list in sequence.According to the agreement, should UTJ gain an odd number of seats, the lowest placed MK on UTJ’s list will resign after two years to allow the next placed candidate to take up his spot for the remaining two years of the Knesset term.This agreement was designed to guarantee parity in representation between Agudah and Degel, due to a long-held grievance by Degel that Agudah had an unjustly higher representation in the Knesset.The UTJ MK last on the party list is now MK Yisrael Eichler from Agudat Yisrael. However, there is reportedly an internal agreement within Agudat Yisrael that freshman MK Yaakov Tessler would resign instead of veteran MK Eichler.All of these scenarios may themselves become irrelevant, however, if UTJ is successful in a legal appeal against the revised count determined by the Central Elections Committee on Wednesday, and the party regains its much beloved eighth Knesset seat.
