I note from the Malaysiakini report ‘I voted for removal of polling agents, says Khairy’, that after our debate on Wednesday, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin made further statements to the press regarding the Election Offences (Amendment) Bill 2012 which was passed by Parliament on April 19.
I would like to comment on some of the issues he raised to the press that he had not addressed during the debate.
We must be very clear about the far reaching effects of these amendments that stop agents of candidates from being in the election booth.
The amendment removes entirely the only effective check on phantom and illegal voters.
The candidate’s agents can detect anything suspicious relating to the voters as they go through the booth in the polling stations. Their ICs can be scrutinised here and they will have visual confirmation of the voter.
The right of a candidate to have his or her agents within the polling stations is therefore vital to ensure oversight of the electoral process.
The unholy haste with which the amendments were rushed through Parliament on the last day of its sitting without proper consultation raises many questions.
When asked about the purported trouble being created by the election agents which was the basis of the amendment, no evidence of it was provided in Parliament.
Why EC did not inform PSC on changes?
Another question that remains unanswered is why did the Election Commission not disclose their proposal to amend section 26A of the Election Offences Act to the Parliamentary Select Committee?
If they had such a problem with the agents, this was the best place to raise it.
Against the backdrop of the persistent and unexplained problems with the electoral roll, this utter lack of openness by the Election Commission, combined with the speed with which the amendments were passed through Parliament, only increases suspicion of electoral fraud and the public’s loss of confidence in the independence and integrity of the commission.
This amendment done in this manner is reason enough for Bersih 3.0.
I would like to comment on some of the issues he raised to the press that he had not addressed during the debate.
We must be very clear about the far reaching effects of these amendments that stop agents of candidates from being in the election booth.The amendment removes entirely the only effective check on phantom and illegal voters.
The candidate’s agents can detect anything suspicious relating to the voters as they go through the booth in the polling stations. Their ICs can be scrutinised here and they will have visual confirmation of the voter.
The right of a candidate to have his or her agents within the polling stations is therefore vital to ensure oversight of the electoral process.
The unholy haste with which the amendments were rushed through Parliament on the last day of its sitting without proper consultation raises many questions.
When asked about the purported trouble being created by the election agents which was the basis of the amendment, no evidence of it was provided in Parliament.
Why EC did not inform PSC on changes?
Another question that remains unanswered is why did the Election Commission not disclose their proposal to amend section 26A of the Election Offences Act to the Parliamentary Select Committee?
If they had such a problem with the agents, this was the best place to raise it.Against the backdrop of the persistent and unexplained problems with the electoral roll, this utter lack of openness by the Election Commission, combined with the speed with which the amendments were passed through Parliament, only increases suspicion of electoral fraud and the public’s loss of confidence in the independence and integrity of the commission.
This amendment done in this manner is reason enough for Bersih 3.0.
AMBIGA SREENEVASAN is co-coordinator of Bersih and former Bar Council chairperson.
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