The Central Elections Committee on Monday chose a new legal adviser, drawing protest from the Prime Minister’s Office, which attempted to claim that her selection was invalid due to an alleged procedural flaw.

In a statement, the committee announced that it had unanimously chosen attorney Yifat Siminovski “following a multi-stage, professional and comprehensive tender process.”

An executive at Intel, Siminovski previously served at the National Cyber Directorate and the Education Ministry, “and her expertise in the fields of cyber, artificial intelligence and technologies will contribute greatly to the work of the committee,” the committee stated.

The Central Elections Committee is an independent state body responsible for managing parliamentary elections and protecting their integrity. It is chaired by a Supreme Court justice and comprises representatives of the various factions in the Knesset. It is in charge of tallying votes and has the power to disqualify parties ahead of elections.

Conservative Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, serving in his capacity as chairman of the committee, on Sunday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to cancel the tender for a new committee legal adviser, informing the premier’s attorney that there was “no basis” for taking such action.

In a letter to Sohlberg on Sunday, attorney Ilan Bombach, representing both Netanyahu and his Likud party, argued that the search for a new legal adviser must be halted because........

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