Don’t fall for EC’s charms on seat redrawing exercise, Ambiga warns opposition

Former Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan says she judges the Election Commission based on its history, adding that it has never been partial towards opposition parties when it came to redelineation of electoral boundaries. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, November 6, 2014.

Former Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan yesterday called on all political parties not to be taken in by the promises of the Election Commission (EC) to hold a fair redelineation of electoral boundaries.

She said history has shown that the EC's word was not to be fully believed and urged, especially opposition parties, not to be fooled by the commission.

‎"I am shocked that the opposition parties believe them (EC), that they are fair in increasing seats," she said at the "GE13: clean and fair? The verdict of the people’s tribunal" forum in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

"What reason have they shown for us to believe them? On what basis are they (the opposition) allowing the delineation to carry on. The electoral roll has not been cleaned up‎."

It was reported on Sunday that ‎the EC would be going ahead with the long overdue redelineation of electoral boundaries, having deferred the scheduled exercise in 2011 after the last one in 2003.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the EC was expected to gazette the notice for the redelineation exercise by year-end.

Aziz also said a redelineation exercise was not intended to determine the victory of any party in elections. The principle behind the EC exercise was to facilitate the voter.

If the exercise involves an increase in the number of seats, a two-thirds majority vote is needed in Parliament to approve the changes before they are passed by the lower house.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) does not have the required two-thirds majority in Parliament, with only 133 seats to Pakatan Rakyat's 89 seats, and will require votes from opposition lawmakers to approve the exercise.

Ambiga said she had heard rumours of opposition parties which agreed with the EC on the redelineation exercise.

"So what I am saying is, please don't negotiate these things without getting the basic system right otherwise you will be building on a rocky core," she said, referring to the discrepancies in the electoral roll which had been highlighted in the tribunal.

Earlier, Lembah Pantai‎ MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, who attended the talk, also voiced her concerns that the EC would use its "charms" as well as a divide-and-rule tactic to influence opposition parties to agree to the delineation exercise.

"My biggest fear is that they use the divide-and-rule tactic.‎ They meet parties one at a time‎.

"We are organising an internal session just to highlight how hurtful the increased seats would be to the opposition. Delineation of electoral boundaries has never benefited the opposition.

"I hope you step up in reminding the opposition parties not to fall for the 'charms' of the EC‎, to stress a united front to the EC" she told the panellists, who also included Universiti Malaya law professor Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar, Bersih co-chair Maria Chin Abdullah and Bar Council's Human Rights Committee chairman Andrew Khoo.

‎Ambiga then reminded Izzah that the EC was being "charming" as they could not perform the redelineation without the opposition's help.

"It is because ‎they need a two-thirds majority to do this‎. That's why they are nice and charming‎," the lawyer said.

"For me, I go on history. There is nothing that has changed or made me change my mind about the EC.

"They have not come clean with us about the indelible ink fiasco‎ and have not acted on reports of irregularities in the previous election. I have no reason to believe they've changed‎‎."

Calling the delineation exercise an electoral fraud, Maria said every delineation exercise conducted previously resulted in a landslide victory for BN‎.

“There is no accountability and transparency (in the redelineation). Seat increases are done so unfairly that we simply have to object to it‎," she said, adding that Bersih was currently embarking on a campaign to prepare for the delineation exercise.

- TMI