The Election Commission explained that the alleged electoral fraud exposed by parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim today was in fact a genuine case of an ordinary voter applying to be an absentee voter.
According to a senior EC official, who declined to be named, a check with the commission's IT department found that the voter Zarina Abu Tausi was only registered on the electoral roll once.
He said that Zarina was previously on the master roll as an ordinary voter but had applied to be an absentee voter on Dec 20, 2011 as her husband is serving in the military.
“She is registered as a new registration as this is her first application to be an absentee voter. When her application is approved, she will recorded as an absentee voter, replacing the previous record,” he told Malaysiakini.
He added that there are currently two records of Zarina because the database, publicly accessible on the EC website, is currently being updated as the fourth quarter roll was only gazetted two days ago.
The official said that the '/' mark at the end of the identity card has also been “misunderstood” to mean that the voter has been registered twice.
He said records that are currently being processed have the mark to separate the new identity card and old identity card, if any.
“The fact is, there is one person with two different statuses. When the database (on the website) is updated, the same person will be only have one status,” he said.
Pekan constituency
The officer declined to be named as he is not authorised to make official statements on behalf of the EC.
However, it is understood that both EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and his deputy Wan Ahmad Wan Omar have endorsed the officer's reply.
Both Abdul Aziz and Wan Ahmad have been contacted about the issue and have yet to reply to request for comments.
At the Parliament lobby this morning, Anwar held a press conference to allege that the electoral roll is being subject to “massive fraud” and manipulation.
He cited one example - that of Zarina - pointing out that this was an example of how Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s Parliamentary constituency of Pekan was being padded with voters.
Anwar did not say how widespread the alleged fraud was, but said it involved "thousands" of voters nationwide.
“I am sure it was under instructions and Umno is aware. I am sure they say that the EC has a duty to safeguard the Malays,” Anwar had claimed.
Pakatan reveals how EC conducts 'massive fraud'
According to a senior EC official, who declined to be named, a check with the commission's IT department found that the voter Zarina Abu Tausi was only registered on the electoral roll once.
He said that Zarina was previously on the master roll as an ordinary voter but had applied to be an absentee voter on Dec 20, 2011 as her husband is serving in the military.
“She is registered as a new registration as this is her first application to be an absentee voter. When her application is approved, she will recorded as an absentee voter, replacing the previous record,” he told Malaysiakini.
He added that there are currently two records of Zarina because the database, publicly accessible on the EC website, is currently being updated as the fourth quarter roll was only gazetted two days ago.
The official said that the '/' mark at the end of the identity card has also been “misunderstood” to mean that the voter has been registered twice.
He said records that are currently being processed have the mark to separate the new identity card and old identity card, if any.
“The fact is, there is one person with two different statuses. When the database (on the website) is updated, the same person will be only have one status,” he said.
Pekan constituency
The officer declined to be named as he is not authorised to make official statements on behalf of the EC.
However, it is understood that both EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and his deputy Wan Ahmad Wan Omar have endorsed the officer's reply.
Both Abdul Aziz and Wan Ahmad have been contacted about the issue and have yet to reply to request for comments.
At the Parliament lobby this morning, Anwar held a press conference to allege that the electoral roll is being subject to “massive fraud” and manipulation.
He cited one example - that of Zarina - pointing out that this was an example of how Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s Parliamentary constituency of Pekan was being padded with voters.
Anwar did not say how widespread the alleged fraud was, but said it involved "thousands" of voters nationwide.
“I am sure it was under instructions and Umno is aware. I am sure they say that the EC has a duty to safeguard the Malays,” Anwar had claimed.
Pakatan reveals how EC conducts 'massive fraud'
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