In the aftermath of May 5th (part 6)

We once found a few names registered at a cemetery (now that is what I would call real phantom voters). In fact, Azmin Ali’s dead father was still a registered voter in 2004 and, more importantly, he actually voted in the 2004 general election. How was that possible? This is where your election workers need to be good. The fact that Azmin not only found out that his father was still a registered voter but that he had also ‘voted’ shows that his machinery is on the ball.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Okay, now let’s get back to what I spoke about in part 4 of this series regarding election fraud. In part 4, I said, “First of all, you need to buy the list of the registered voters from the Election Commission (SPR). Your election workers then study this list to see whether there are any dubious voters on this list.”

This list comes in the form of a CD and you can either buy the one just for your constituency or you can buy the entire set for the whole country. So, if you wish to contest the election or you are working in the party ‘war room’ or the operations centre of the candidate, you must first arm yourself with this list. And you buy the final list that is going to be used for the coming election.

That final list will not change until after Polling Day -- which means anyone who registers as a voter after that final list is complete will not appear on the list and cannot vote in the election. This could be the list that is closed, say, six months or so before the date of the election.

You then need to carefully study the voters’ list and see if you can find any dubious voters on the list. These could be names of dead people still on the list or 300 names registered at the same house address or names of people registered at an address that does not exist and so on.

We once found a few names registered at a cemetery (now that is what I would call real phantom voters). In fact, Azmin Ali’s dead father was still a registered voter in 2004 and, more importantly, he actually voted in the 2004 general election. How was that possible? This is where your election workers need to be good. The fact that Azmin not only found out that his father was still a registered voter but that he had also ‘voted’ shows that his machinery is on the ball.

You need to know the names of the streets and the number of houses on that street. For example, Jalan 222 in, say, Petaling Jaya could have houses numbered from 1 to 99 on one side of the street and 2 to 100 on the facing side. Hence house number 122 on Jalan 222 in Petaling Jaya is a fake address.

Once all the discrepancies are detected you need to bring this up with the SPR and get these names removed. If not you may have a high incidence of phantom voters. It is YOUR job to do this if you want to contest the election and you have only yourself to blame if you are sleeping on the job.

(So it is not that easy to contest the election after all, is it? It requires a lot of hard work).

Then you need to train your election workers who will be on duty on Polling Day. These would be the observers or agents at the polling centres as well as at the counting centres. They need to know the election laws plus what to do on Polling Day and how to file a protest if they find something wrong, which can later be used as evidence in the event you wish to file an Election Petition to contest the result. 

Before the ballot box is sealed, your agent needs to inspect the box to ensure that no ‘stuffed votes’ are already in the box. Only then can the ballot boxes be sealed, once it is confirmed that they are empty. 

You already know how many voters will be voting in your saluran or stream because you have the registered voters list. Let us say, for argument’s sake, 1,000 voters will be voting in your saluran.

When the first voter comes in to vote, his/her identity card will be checked. Then his/her name will be announced loudly with the number on the list to confirm that he/she is a registered voter. You then cancel this name, which means this person has already voted and cannot vote again.

At the end of the day, after polling has ended, you count how many names from the 1,000 turned up to vote. Let’s say 820 names have been cancelled. This means there should be 820 ballot papers in the ballot box.

The ballot box is then sealed and you stay with the ballot box and do not take your eyes of it. If the ballot boxes are transferred to another place, say to the counting centre, you escort the ballot box and never take your eyes of it, even if a naked girl walks in to the room (or a jambu youth if you are gay).

The seal for the ballot box is then broken and the ballot papers are poured onto the table and counted (make sure no ballot papers are ‘stuck’ in the box). The number of ballot papers counted should come to 820. And if it shows a number other than 820, you fill in the form and file a complaint. Normally the number of ballot papers in the box would tally with the number of names on the list that have been cancelled -- in this case 820.

After counting the ballot papers and confirming that the numbers are correct -- meaning 820 -- you then sort the ballot papers. Let’s say there are only two contestants -- Barisan Nasional and DAP. All the Barisan Nasional ballots and put into one pile and the DAP ballots into another.

As they sort the ballot papers one-by-one, they have to first show you whether they are Barisan Nasional or DAP ballots. Once you are satisfied and you nod in agreement, the ballot papers are placed into the correct pile, Barisan Nasional on one side and DAP on the other.

Once all 820 ballot papers have been correctly sorted to your satisfaction -- Barisan Nasional ballots on one side and DAP on the other -- you then count the ballot papers in each pile. The sum total of the two piles must come to 820.

If the votes for Barisan Nasional come to 420 and, for DAP, 400 and you are not satisfied, you can demand a recount. If the recount is 419 for Barisan Nasional and 401 for DAP and you are still not satisfied, you can demand that they be counted yet again. Say the third count shows that it is again 420 for Barisan Nasional and 400 for DAP and this time you are satisfied, then this is the figure that is recorded on the form. 

This form is then signed by the SPR with the agents for all the candidates also counter-signing the form. You then demand a copy of this form for your records. That would be the final result.

So how can they cheat? The number of registered voters in your saluran is 1,000. This has been confirmed by your party HQ or the operations centre of your candidate.

The number of people who voted was 820. You confirmed this.

The number of ballot papers in the ballot box is also 820. You confirmed this.

The total votes for both candidates is 820. You confirmed this.

They sorted out the ballot papers correctly. You saw this yourself.

They counted both piles correctly. You saw this yourself.

And the sum total for both piles comes to 820. You confirmed this.

Hence Barisan Nasional won that particular salurn with 420 votes versus DAP’s 400 votes. All this was done in front of you with you as the witness.

So, pray tell, how can they cheat as far as what happened in your saluran on Polling Day is concerned?

TO BE CONTINUED