“Only when the elections of our representatives to the Knesset are based partly on regional elections, will we be able to get 1/3 of citizens to the ballots to vote.” 

On February 19, 2009, a column written by Yuval Lipkin, the Executive Director of CECI, was published on the NRG Maariv Website. The article calls for the dire need to reform the Israeli election system and to adopt the recommendations of “The President of Israel’s Commission for Examination of the Structure of Government”, headed by Prof. Menachem Magidor.

Bringing Control to the Voter

Only when the elections of our representatives to the Knesset are based partly on regional elections, will we be able to get 1/3 of citizens to the ballots to vote.

By Yuval Lipkin, 2-19-09

We had hoped that the low voter turnout was just a one time occurrence during the 2006 elections, but the public’s trust level in the political system has remained at a deep low point.  This has again been exhibited in the most recent elections, with the 65% voter turnout. The fact that more than 1/3 of the Israeli public chooses to skip a 15 minute trip to the ballot box on a government granted day off for election day, reflects disparity that raises great concern.

Israel’s voter turnout rate is still reasonable compared to certain countries in the West. Nevertheless, the combination of a political agenda that calls for making life or death decisions on daily basis, and the chronic lack of trust in the decision makers, can lead to a situation in which the leadership, who has the power to decide our destiny, is determined by only a minority of the population.

Increasing the public’s participation in elections is needed to ensure appropriate representation of the citizens in the Parliament, but a campaign that only focuses on increasing voter awareness, stressing “only those who vote have influence”, will not rebuild the lack of trust. The correction must be done on a more profound level, reforming the election system. 

“The President of Israel’s Commission for Examination of the Structure of Governance”, headed by Professor Menachem Magidor, examined the government structure in Israel by comparing it to government systems in other democracies. The Commission concluded that Israel must adopt a regional element to its election system, proposing to divide Israel into Regional Districts in which 50% of the MK’s will be elected on behalf of the parties from these regions. This system will give the general elections for the Knesset characteristics that currently exist in the Party Primaries, in which the public elects not only the “National List”

that they want, but also the regional representatives that will serve in the Knesset on their behalf.

 Unlike the Primaries, in which party members are exposed to pressure and deal-making from the supporters who bring them the voters, all eligible voters can participate in regional elections. This large number of voters cannot be manipulated easily.

According to the experiences of other countries, a regional component increases the connection between the public and its representatives, consequently increasing voter participation in elections.

 We have already tried direct elections, but we made a mistake.

A few years ago, the Chairperson of Kadima, Tzipi Livni, raised the idea to integrate regional elections in Israel. Last year, a law was proposed and submitted to the Knesset by MKs:  Ophir Pines Paz, Eitan Cabel, Menachem Ben Sasson and Gideon Sa’ar. Due to political reasons, the proposal has not yet been submitted to the Knesset for a first reading.

The results of the elections for the 18th Knesset and the voter turnout demonstrate again that only profound change in the electoral system will bring back the public’s trust in the political system.  

The country has already tried direct elections with 2 ballots (voting once for a Party and once for a Prime Minister) – a type of a Presidential system – but we realized that we made a mistake.) There is no need to establish another Commission that will delay reform for many more years. Regional elections are the only solution that was examined and recommended by this respected Commission in Israel. Therefore, it is important that the Knesset passes the proposal for Regional elections in its first reading, and that they execute all the necessary changes and adjustments required by the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and submit it to the 18th Knesset so that the elections for the 19th Knesset are conducted in the new format. It’s better to do it sooner, rather than later!

http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/856/013.html