Elections committee calls Shin Bet bribery reports unfounded, confirms results

Israel's Central Elections Committee said late at night that an investigation by the Shin Bet, the country's domestic security service, would not affect the final election results, and dismissed media reports about the probe published earlier in the day. Ynet reported that the committee's acting director-general, attorney Din Livne, described those reports as "not based at all" and said that once the investigation is finished its findings will be passed to the committee chairman, who will establish its scope and implications.

In the same announcement, according to Ynet, the committee approved the final official results, "subject to minor corrections". N12 reported that Livne was also responding to an exposé by its own outlet, Channel 12 News, on suspected election bribery being examined by the Shin Bet. He said the investigation "does not relate to any particular sector" and would not affect the final results to be presented to the president.

What the committee said about secrecy

According to N12, Livne said that only a very small number of people know about the information involved, because it carries a high security classification. He said no further details could be released. He did not say what the information was, who had raised the suspicion, or when the Shin Bet became involved.

A short alert from Ynet's news channel carried the core of the statement: that the reports published that day about the Shin Bet investigation were without foundation. Neither organisation quoted any other official, party or the security service itself.

The bodies involved

The Central Elections Committee is the independent body that runs national elections in Israel. It oversees polling, counts ballots and certifies the official results. After a general election for the Knesset, Israel's parliament, the committee presents the final results to the president, a step that precedes the president's consultations with parties on who should be given the task of forming a government. That is the handover Livne referred to when he spoke of results to be presented to the president.

The Shin Bet, formally the Israel Security Agency, is responsible for internal security, counterterrorism and counterintelligence. It is not the body that usually handles ordinary criminal matters such as vote buying, which are generally the business of the police. The reports do not explain why this suspicion was examined by the security service, though Livne's reference to a high security classification indicates the information was treated as sensitive.

What "sector" means here

The Hebrew word Livne used, migzar, translates as "sector". In Israeli public life it is commonly used to describe distinct population groups, for example Arab citizens, ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities or other identifiable constituencies, each of which tends to have its own voting patterns and parties. By stating that the investigation does not relate to any sector, the committee was signalling that the probe is not directed at the vote of one particular community. The reports do not say whether earlier coverage had suggested otherwise.

Final results and "minor corrections"

Ynet reported that the committee approved what in Hebrew are called the "true results", the official final count as opposed to the preliminary figures published on election night. The approval was given subject to minor corrections. The reports do not say what those corrections involve or whether they could shift any seats.

How the reports differ

The two organisations broadly agree on what Livne said. Ynet's account focuses on the committee's statement as a whole, including the approval of the results and the commitment to pass findings to the chairman. N12's account places the statement in the context of Channel 12's own exposé on suspected bribery and carries the remarks about secrecy and classification, which Ynet's report does not include. Ynet does not name which reports the committee was rejecting. N12 also published an edited version of its update; the text of the two versions provided here is the same.

What the reports do not say

• What the Channel 12 exposé alleged, including who was suspected of offering or receiving bribes, and in which locality or party.
• Which specific claims in the day's coverage the committee considers unfounded, and whether it is denying that bribery was suspected at all or only particular details.
• Who chairs the committee at present and when the investigation is expected to conclude.
• What the minor corrections to the final results are.
• Whether the Shin Bet, the police or any political party has commented.