'Use postal votes to remove phantoms'

Two overseas organisations advocating clean elections and overseas voting rights have called on Malaysians abroad to utilise the newly introduced facilities to cast their postal ballots, in order to prevent their ballots from being abused by 'phantom voters'.

MyOverseasVote (MOV), a group formed by Malaysians overseas to lobby for their voting rights in the next general election, and Global Bersih, an international support group for the clean and fair elections movement, Bersih, have made the stance in a statement issued yesterday.

After the Election Commission (EC)announced the criteria and procedures for Malaysians residing abroad to vote via post, many overseas Malaysians have expressed their reservation to participate in the new process on social media, citing potential ballot tampering during the process.

However, both MOV and Global Bersih opined that the risk that the postal ballot will be tampered with after it has been used is minimal, given the safeguards already in place under the 2003 Postal Voting Regulations, and that any attempted mass tampering should be detectable.

"We believe that the greater risk is that postal ballots will be issued improperly to 'phantom voters' on the electoral roll, or in the names of those known to be overseas who have not actually applied to vote by post, in order to dilute the votes of genuine overseas postal voters.

"For this reason, we believe that the risk of fraud is greater if overseas voters do not vote - thereby allowing others to apply to vote in their name - and strongly recommend that overseas Malaysians apply for postal votes, and collect and exercise their postal votes on the designated day, if they cannot afford to return to Malaysia to vote," read the statement.

"It is important that Malaysians overseas turn out in large numbers to vote, either in person or by post, in order to reduce the impacts of any phantom voting."

To ensure the integrity of postal voting, both groups called for all candidates to be given a list of postal voters in their constituencies at the end of nomination day.

They also demanded that political parties be given a nationwide list of overseas postal voters broken down by embassy, high commission, or consulate.

"We also call upon the EC and Wisma Putra (foreign ministry) to permit party agents from each political party to observe the collection and voting process within each Malaysian mission overseas.

‘If refused, we will monitor the collection ourselves'

"If the EC and Wisma Putra refuse to allow this, then we, overseas Malaysians, will set up observation booths outside the missions in order to monitor the overseas postal vote collection ourselves."

Therefore, MOV and Global Bersih called for volunteers in all cities where Malaysian missions are located to be prepared to observe the collection of postal ballots every day during the postal voting period.

"Observers will record the numbers of postal voters who turn up to collect postal ballots at every Malaysian mission, and will ask for, and record the postal voters' MyKad numbers in order to determine the number of overseas postal votes cast in each constituency."

They urged the EC to immediately begin formal discussions with political parties and civil society to develop and agree to implement procedures that will underpin a transparent postal voting process that meets the universal standards of accountability.

"Any refusal by the EC to engage with stakeholders on this issue can only be viewed as unwillingness on the part of the commission to oversee the coming election process in an impartial and non-partisan manner," they added.