canceling elections

A few years back a fellow named Ron Kubi won the elections to be mayor of Tiberias. 

Kubi was super anti-Haredi and especially anti Haredi leadership (Shas and specifically Deri) and yook the very public approach that they were destroying his city. In his efforts to revitalize the city he took every anti-Haredi position he could, such as promoting the opening of businesses and tourism on Shabbos, and took every opportunity to go to battle with the city councilmen representing the Haredi communities of Tiberias.

Eventually in 2020 Kubi could not continue functioning with all the enemies he had created and the Haredi city councilmen got together with a couple others and basically blocked him at every opportunity not letting him pass laws and ordinances and when he failed to pass a budget they successfully got him removed from office and replaced with a committee appointed by the Ministry of Interior to run the city and get it back on track. 

Municipal elections are scheduled for this coming October, just about 7 months away, and MK Yaakov Asher (UTJ) in his position as head of the Knesset Committee of the Interior, visited Tiberias to evaluate the status of the city that has been functioning with no mayor but with an appointed committee with an appointed head of city council.

Asher announced that he is pleased with the turn the city has taken under the guidance of Boaz Yosef, the appointed head of the city council, has successfully recuperated and is now at the point of taking off. Asher expressed regret that this successful recuperation may all get derailed by the upcoming elections. Asher said that while in the normal democratic process the residents should choose who their mayor should be to run the city and move it forward, but in the case of Tiberias it would be a shame to put a halt to the progress and the public interest there would really be to cancel the elections and extend the appointment of the appointed head of council.

Ron Kubi, who is seemingly planning on running in the upcoming elections, sent a letter to the Acting Minister of Interior Michael Malkieli (acting in place of Aryeh Deri) protesting the suggestion...

source: Behadrei

Obviously if this becomes a fight between Kubi and Shas/UTJ, Kubi is going to lose.

It seems a bit frightening that they can and may cancel democratic elections just because they want to, because they like the way their appointee is functioning, because they want to prevent someone they dont like (even legitimately) from possibly becoming mayor. Whether they end up canceling it or not is almost irrelevant - the fact that Yaakov Asher from his position as head of the Interior Committee can try to use his position of influence to derail the democratic process is frightening. 

And I know it is a jump, though it isnt a major jump, but while judicial reform might very well be necessary, swinging  everything in the favor of putting all the power in the hands of the Knesset who very well may decide to cancel elections, or at least consider it, when it doesnt suit them, is frightening.

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