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Monday, January 21, 2013

NIEI: Bring back judicial review of electoral roll


The recent revelation that illegal voters were included in the electoral roll is reason enough to reinstate judicial review over such matters, says the National Institute of Electoral Integrity (NIEI).

NONE"NIEI views with concern the allegation... as raised at a recent session of the royal commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah,” its chairperson K Shan said in a statement today.

"NIEI is of the view that the inclusion of Section 9A (in the Election Act 1958) has reduced judicial scrutiny over complaints and challenges raised on the existence of illegal voters ..."

Section 9A states that after an electoral roll is certified and the notice of certification is published in the Government Gazette, it shall be deemed final and cannot be questioned or appealed against, reviewed, quashed or set aside by any court.

The amendment was introduced after a 1999 election petition that saw the Likas state constituency election result declared null and void, after it was determined that non-citizens and individuals convicted for possession of fake identity cards had been included in the electoral roll.

Shan said judicial review of the electoral roll should be allowed at the pre-election stage but limited to the quarterly gazette, because a challenge to the roll in its entirety may risk halting elections for years without resolution.

"Judicial review is a second chance for political parties to review decisions by the authorities (when complaints are) made," he said.

Under the current practice, political parties can challenge the inclusion of dubious names in the public gazette, and the Election Commission can call up those named for an inquiry. If they fail to turn up, their names will be removed.

Shan also called for a better mechanism to quickly identify and remove the names of voters who pass away.

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