The Political Parties Law stipulates that only a party established according to the rules may submit candidates to Knesset.
By DAN IZENBERGsharon 88(photo credit: )
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will have to form his party in accordance with the Political Parties Law, passed by the Knesset in 1992.
The law stipulates that only an organized political party established according to the rules and conditions included in it may submit candidates for election to the Knesset.
The following are some of the conditions Sharon would have to meet.
A minimum of 100 citizens are required to form a new party. They must submit their application to the Registrar of Political Parties, who is a Justice Ministry official.
The application will include the proposed name of the party, its platform and the names, dates of birth, identity card number, and address of each founding member.
The Party's Registrar must publish the details of the application within two weeks in the government gazette and the daily newspapers, and must also notify the Central Elections Committee and the representatives of the other parties of the application.
Article 5 of the law stipulates what conditions justify objecting to the registration of the party. These include a party's position rejecting Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, incitement to racism, supporting the armed struggle of a hostile country or terrorist organization against Israel, or a situation in which there is reasonable cause for suspicion that the party is meant to be a cover for illegal activities.
The registrar will rule on any such complaints that are filed, and the losing side may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court within 30 days.
If, at the end of this procedure, the would-be party meets all the criteria and all objections, if there are any, are rejected, it will be recorded in the party registry. Any group of people not listed in the registry is by definition not a political party.
Once the party is registered, the registrar will inform the Knesset Speaker and the Central Elections Committee that the process has been completed successfully.
A party must have a set of internal rules that will include details such as the conditions for becoming a party member, the party member's rights and duties, disciplinary institutions and procedures against party members, the prerogatives of the party branches, a listing of party organs, their prerogatives, how they are chosen, etc., mandatory dates for convening party institutions and other details.
No one may be registered in two political parties simultaneously.
The party will be open to supervision by the State Comptroller.
