'Likud referendum vote illegitimate'
Likud Central Committee endorses calls for national referendum on pullout plans; vote invalid because less than one third of Committee members cast their ballots, Sharon's associates say. Prime minister takes stage amid heckling and calls for his resignation
TEL AVIV - The Likud Central Committee's Thursday vote to back calls for a national referendum on the Gaza pullout is illegitimate, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's close associates say.
Committee members overwhelmingly voted to endorse the referendum proposal, as expected, but less than one third of all Committee members were present for the vote.
Sharon's close associates said a vote would only be legitimate if one third of party members were present, namely 1,070 members. However, only 828 members had cast their ballot.
Although the proposal was passed by a wide margin, its significance will likely be minor, as it does not appear the Knesset would pass a referendum bill.
Labor faction whip Dalia Itzik said following the vote that if a referendum is held, the Labor Party would quit the government and new elections would have to be held.
"The Likud is a national, liberal movement, and we must do everything in our power to keep it that way," Sharon said ahead of the vote, adding the pullout plan would be implemented as planned.
"I will not let the radical margins dictate our path, “ he said
Sharon's speech was interrupted throughout by heckling and calls telling him to go home.
'Referendum could prevent insubordination'
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said at the meeting he fears for the future. There is no issue more controversial than the future of Gaza and West Bank settlements, he said.
"It is likely to drag us into the depths of hatred," he said.
Shalom added that a referendum on the pullout is likely to prevent insubordination.
Likud rebels leader Uzi Landau, meanwhile, said the old Sharon would have fought for a referendum on the pullout.
"I refuse to believe that our prime minister would not ratify what Arik Sharon fought for," he said.
He called on members to vote in favor of a referendum on the pullout.
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who favors a referendum on the pullout, told the central committee to "go and vote, vote for the budget and for the referendum."
'Letting off steam'
Sharon’s close associates said his support for the compromise proposal was designed to prevent arguments and hostility within Likud ranks, but that he had already decided to vote against it.
The associates said the central committee meeting Thursday as “boring," and described it as an opportunity “to let off steam”
Waiting for Shas' decision
A senior member of the religious party Shas told Ynet Thursday the important and unprecedented referendum decision could only be made by the chief rabbis, who would decide whether the 16 Shas and United Torah Judaism Knesset members would support a bill on a referendum.
The entire political establishment is waiting for Shas' final decision, which may possibly decide whether a referendum would in fact be held.
Knesset Justice Committee Chairman Michael Eitan said Shas’ stance was likely to change following the vote at the central committee, which would make the party realize it has the power to determine whether a referendum is held.
