Israel’s Knesset Law, Constitution and Justice Committee took the first steps on Monday to abolish the direct election law, when it approved 14 of the clauses in a proposed bill which will restore the old system of elections, reported Haaretz newspaper in its internet edition.
The system of directly electing the prime minister was used for the first time in the 1996 elections in which Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu defeated Labor's Shimon Peres.
The new system has been widely viewed as being responsible for the demise of the big parties and the destabilizing of the Knesset, said the paper.
The clauses were passed by a clear 11-3 majority.
Members of the 17-seat ultra-orthodox Shas party, who are vehemently opposed to changing the law, did not attend the vote, added the paper.
Shas, according to Haaretz, fears that a reversion to the old system will dramatically reduce its Knesset representation.
The committee will vote on the remaining articles of the bill on Tuesday, and will also decide on a date by which the bill will take effect.
After it leaves the committee, the bill still has to pass a second and third reading in the Knesset plenum before it becomes law.
If passed, the law will bring back the old system of elections, whereby voters cast ballots for a political party only, said the paper – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
