Former minister suspected of buying votes: Amir Peretz

Not only in Habayit Hayehudi: newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed this morning (Monday) serious allegations of corruption also in the Avodah Party primaries, when two MKs allegedly were involved in buying votes in the primaries.

According to the report, former politician who served as a senior official duty, as well as ministers and other MKs, are allegedly involved in payment to votes contractors in exchange for support in the primary. Yedioth Ahronoth reported further that new evidence has been backed log records were transferred to police investigators, who started checking the case.

Party Chairman MK Yachimovich, said this morning in an interview with Army Radio that MK Amir Peretz, who deserted to Hatnua before closing notes of the 19th Knesset, is the former senior minister. Yachimovich said in the program, 'as of this morning', with Niv Raskin: "Unfortunately this happened in the Avodah Party primaries. Former senior minister mentioned in the article is Amir Peretz, and already yesterday we formulated a sharp denunciation on behalf of Party General Secretary by which we express disgust to the symptoms described in the article. Fortunately, the Knesset member who was involved in these things seemingly is no longer a member of the Avodah Party. Other candidate mentioned there is his brother in law Sami Shoshan."

She says to the appeal yesterday by Yedioth Ahronoth for comment, she did not know about the signs mentioned in the inquiry. "If I had the smallest concern, I would have filed a complaint to the police immediately," she said.

According to a report in Yedioth Ahronoth, the focus of the affair is P, who was a senior official of the election headquarters of the party candidates for the Knesset. He passed a polygraph test confirmed that his testimony, in which he was present at the event during which funds were transferred to contractors votes in exchange for support in the deal - is testimony to the truth.

According to his testimony, he had been hired about a month before the primaries. He said he spent time with the candidate who hired his services throughout the country. The candidate, by the way, was left off the list for the Knesset.

P. said that after meetings with vote's contractors he was sent by the applicant to bring a checkbook from his car. "In many cases I was to deliver payment for support at the ballot box," said P. to Yedioth Ahronoth. "The former senior minister" - Amir Peretz, by MK Yachimovich – said P., was accompanied to one of the meetings, held at Beit Kama during Pillar of Defense. At the meeting it was agreed that the vote contractors will transfer their support to the MK and the candidate for whom he P. worked, and support other candidates included in the deal. In return, according to P., the candidate for whom he worked transferred a check for a sum of a few thousand shekels.

P. indicates a number of other cases, including those that occurred on the primary itself and a case where the hired candidate meets P. with former information minister. He testified that once again the candidate pulled out after the meeting his checkbook and gave a check to the former minister, after he had promised to support him in the race to the list for the Knesset.

Among the names mentioned as those involved in the meetings in question - MK Arel Margalit, and former ministers Salah Tarif and Rahalab Majadele.

Army Radio presented the reaction of MK Amir Peretz, in his office said: "This is a very irresponsible statement of the chairman - head of a party, one of the characteristics she features it is to participate in rumors about people. Every detail described in the article was never made. We offer the MK Yachimovich to wait a little with her glee. MK Amir Peretz is known for his integrity and with his eye on every detail, and even Shelly Yachimovich with her evil characteristics will not be able to change it.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!