Minister Haim Katz and Likud MK David Bitan have informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they oppose the possibility of holding the party’s primaries through electronic voting, Kan News reported.

Katz and Bitan each oppose the proposal for their own reasons and reiterated their firm objections during a meeting of the Likud election committee on Thursday.

Netanyahu has been preparing for the possibility of digital voting in the election to determine the Likud’s Knesset slate. He was reportedly impressed by the Democratic Party’s secure digital primary process, which produced very high voter turnout.

The main reason behind the proposal is concern that a security escalation could disrupt traditional voting. Electronic primaries could also save the party millions of shekels and reduce the influence of organized pressure groups that operate primarily at physical polling stations.

Acting Likud Director-General David Sharan is considered the proposal’s leading advocate. Netanyahu has so far discussed electronic voting only in the event of a complex security situation, though officials around him believe it could be adopted even without such a scenario.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)