The Knesset is demanding an urgent discussion in the Interior Committee on the army's preparedness for elections following the publication in Israel Hayom. MK Michal Waldiger (Religious Zionism) wrote to Committee Chairman MK Yaakov Asher (Shas) this morning with details of the article, in which the army claims that it is not prepared for the local elections.
Waldiger detailed the problems described in the article: the need for 10,000 regular soldiers to hold elections in the army, the recruitment of 14,000 security guards and 8,000 police officers to guard the civilian polling stations.
In her letter, MK Waldinger states that "in light of the above, and for the sake of the war effort and the soldiers, and especially the nominated reserve soldiers, in order to preserve the spirit of unity that is so necessary these days, I will request an urgent discussion in the presence of the Minister of the Interior on examining the purpose of the elections that has been set and postponing them to a later date, at least until February 27."
MK Waldiger, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Military representatives who recently attended a preparedness meeting at the Interior Ministry told ministry officials that "there are operational difficulties" in holding elections in the army. In a meeting that ended with an explosion, it emerged that some 10,000 regular soldiers were needed as members of the polling committee for election day, a number that seems fanciful when the IDF's manpower is stretched to the limit. IDF representatives added that 1,600 more polling stations were needed than the 800 initially decided.
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