Stop re-delineation exercise, Bersih tells EC

Polls reform group says this should be done until the electoral rolls are cleaned up and new Election Commission members are appointed.

PETALING JAYA: Election reform group Bersih 2.0 wants all constituency re-delineation exercises stopped until the electoral rolls are cleaned up and new Election Commission (EC) members are appointed.

It said today that former EC chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman’s recent revelations add to a long line of disappointing and troubling conduct of the EC and that rot should stop here.

Two days ago, Abdul Rashid, who joined Malay right-wing group Perkasa, said during his tenure he was involved in three re-delineation exercises.

He admitted that he had ensured that the three exercises were done in such a way to ensure Malays retained political power.

“We did it in a proper way. Not illegally. The people who lost in the past general elections claimed that we did it wrong.

“But if we did, how did Barisan Nasional lose to the opposition in Kelantan, Penang and Selangor?” asked Abdul Rashid.

He also added that his decision to join Perkasa was to ensure Malays retained political power.

EC serving interests of party in power

Bersih said Abdul Rashid’s statement only served to strengthen views that the EC was not independent.

His statements lend credence to Bersih’s long-running contention that the EC is not an independent, non-partisan election management body.

“That the former EC chairman felt he could make these statements openly, without even the barest recognition of public accountability, speaks volumes about the political culture which the current EC inherited and continues to perpetuate,” it added.

Bersih said the EC also did not adhere to the rural weightage in deciding whether a constituency is urban or rural.

“As Bersih has long suspected, the gerrymandering and malapportionment served the interests of the political party in power,” it said.

Bersih also pointed out that Rahid’s re-delineation exercise was insincere because the 13th schedule of the Federal Constitution states that the number of voters in state seats must be approximately equal.

The 13th schedule states that factors such as accessibility to voters and other disadvantages to rural voters should also be taken into account in giving weightage to the constituency.