Election Commission should prove its CREDIBILITY

EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof claims the Selangor government’s voters audit exercise is insincere, done with the agenda of discrediting the EC by labelling genuine voters as dubious voters.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution had alleged that a small hut in Sungai Pusu, Gombak, was the registered address of 13 voters.

Abdul Aziz said an inspection by EC officials showed that the hut is not a residential house but a parking place for motorcycles.

The address provided by Saifuddin is that of a coffee shop that is used by residents of several houses in the locality as their corresponding address because it is located beside the main road.

Abdul Aziz that the EC was the only body empowered, under Article 113 of the Federal Constitution, to administer the electoral roll.

“We have never agreed to let any individual or institution to inspect or audit the electoral roll.”

He also reiterated that once the names of voters are registered in the electoral roll and gazetted, the roll cannot be questioned or changed by anybody except by the voters themselves.

This is where the danger lies - the roll cannot be questioned or changed. EC was created by the constitution to protect the sanctity of electoral process in order to ensure that the process of selecting the next government is clean, transparent, democratic and credible.

There must be a check-and-balance mechanism to ensure that the EC is operating above politics at all times. It does not sound very credible and convincing if the EC does not make any effort to cement its credibility and impartiality.

Any party that doubts the credibility and accuracy of the electoral roll has the right to demand for a disclosure. EC is responsible to conduct regular audits to ensure that the roll is clean and accurate.

Aziz is quick to point that the commission can make mistakes too. Hence, he should keep an open mind to queries and doubts. His role is to rectify any weaknesses and mistakes.

This is not the first time EC has been informed about discrepancies in the electoral roll but the commission under Aziz has not responded favorably to the complaints.

If Aziz cannot do the job, he should step down and let others who are more capable to take over from him; instead of crying wolf over the Selangor government audit of the electoral roll. It does not take the Selangor government audit exercise to discredit the commission. Aziz's leadership of the EC has caused enough damage to its reputation.

What has EC accomplished on Sabah's Project IC, phantom voters, postal voters, overseas voters and other significant suggestions on electoral reforms?

-khookaypeng.blogspot.com