UIA polls result suspended, no clear winner at UM

The results of the campus election at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) has been suspended after an error was detected in the electronic voting system that was used.

UIA's senate will decide in a week on whether the results will be accepted or whether fresh polls needed to be called.

"Upon findings, the final tally shows some votes were not captured due to incomplete encryption process. 

"Thus, in the name of fair and transparent election, UIA's election commission is of the view that the election result cannot be formally announced due to the technical problem encountered during the e-voting process," read a statement from the commission's head.

The commission is of the opinion that fresh polls, most likely done manually, need to be called in a week, but this is subject to the university senate's approval.

UIA is the traditional stronghold of the pro-Mahasiswa faction, which are known for their anti-establishment tendencies. Last year, it won 23 out of 26 seats.

UIA is one of the seven major campuses that are holding polls today. Six others are Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI).

Meanwhile, anti-establishment pro-Mahasiswa faction is ahead in the campus election for UMs student representatives council but the final result will go down the wire.

Pro-Mahasiswa obtained 20 seats against 19 obtained by its rival Aspirasi and two independents, but there are two draws which will only be settled tomorrow.

Over at Universiti Putra Malaysia, the Aspirasi faction won 17 seats while a splinter group known as Siswa Penggerak Universiti (SPU), formed this year, bagged 13. Last year, Aspirasi won 32 seats.

Pro-Mahasiswa won seven seats in UPM and failed to defend four seats won last year. Ten independent candidates also won. 

The results for the polls at UKM should be known by 11pm. 

Smaller universities holding polls today are Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Universiti Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Tun Abdul Razak.

Last year, the pro-Mahasiswa group managed to win most seats in UM, UKM and UIA.