GE15 may see new election system, revamped EC

The 14th general election could be the last using the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system as the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) is looking into the possibility of replacing this with another system to ensure proportionate representation.

The May 9 polls, which witnessed the curtain coming down on BN's six-decade rule, might have also been the last to be conducted by the Election Commission in its present form.

"There are a lot of complaints about FPTP being unfair. So we are studying a more proportionate system.

"Basically if you get 60 percent of votes, you (should) get 60 percent of seats," committee chairperson Abdul Rashid Ab Rahman told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

The former EC chairperson said another proposed reform included coming up with a legal framework to establish an "electoral management body" that might replace the EC.

"It can be the EC, it can be anything else, I believe the country will still call it the EC.

"But the country may not want it to be that kind of commission, so it may not be called a commission anymore," he added.

There are 15 items on the reform agenda including:

• Appropriate structure and legal framework concerning redelineation
• The registration of voters and preparation of electoral rolls
• Registration of political parties
• Control of political activities
• Electoral campaign mechanisms, sanctions, and code of conduct
• Political funding controls, and government funding for political parties
• Freedom of expression and media access
• Election conduct for the electoral management body
• Code of conduct for parties and candidates during election period
• Electoral observers
• Enforcement of election laws
• Guidelines for caretaker government
• Assistance from other bodies in terms of security, enforcement, compliance, emergencies, and other matters.

The ERC has two years to submit its proposals to the government.

Rashid said the proposed reforms would be presented to the public gradually for feedback and engagement.

Though confident that the reforms would be in place before the next general election, he said it might not be possible to implement them for the Sarawak state election due in 2021.

"Don't pressure us to take shortcuts to accommodate that (the Sarawak election)," he added. -Mkini