Dead also vote in the only democracy in ME

The Knesset Constitution Law and Justice Committee on Thursday approved regulations to combat the phenomenon of 'dead voters' - whereby those registered to vote are listed as having impossibly high ages and are presumed to be filed erroneously.

There are currently 5,711 registered voters listed over 110 years of age, according to the Interior Ministry - and only 30 of them receive senior citizen stipends from the government.

The ministry believes that the majority of the 'voters' listed at these ages are dead and were mistakenly registered. The 2004 State Comptroller report, released following elections for the 16th Knesset, showed seven voters between the ages of 110 and 134 - raising suspicion of irregularities in the registration process.

According to the regulations passed by the Knesset committee on Thursday, anybody listed as 110 or older who does not receive insurance or guaranteed minimal income stipends from the government will be considered inactive.

These inactive residents will then receive a notice from the government informing them that their names and addresses will be erased from the registrar, thus preventing them from voting. Unless, of course, the residents respond to the government's notice.

The regulations are set to go into effect immediately and will be implemented in the local authority elections scheduled for November.

As the regulations will only include those listed as 110 years or older, the government still expects to see a problem with 'dead voters' listed in their 90s or early 100s. More?