Bersih invites EC to tribunal hearing

The six-member panel, which includes international figures, will probe allegations of fraud in GE13.

KUALA LUMPUR: Election watchdog Bersih today invited the Election Commission to take part in the proceedings of its People’s Tribunal, which will investigate allegations of fraud and other irregularities in the 13th general election.

“We are hoping the EC will come and will participate and be a part of this process,” Bersih chief S Ambiga told a press conference here. “We hope that, in the spirit of improving the system, they will attend.”

She announced that the tribunal will hear testimonies from Sept 18 to Sept 22 and that the hearing will be open to the public.

Bersih has described the May 5 polls as the “dirtiest elections ever” and demanded the resignation of EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar resign, but Ambiga said today that the six-member tribunal would not be influenced by the election watchdog or any other quarter.

“Independence was the key criteria in the People’s Tribunal’s organising committee’s selection of panel members,” she said. “They will make up their mind based on the rule of law and the evidence presented to them.

“I can assure you nobody can influence this panel.”

The tribunal’s objective is to determine whether the 13th general election was conducted in a free and fair manner. Its chairman is constitutional law expert Yash Pal Ghai, former Head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the UN Development Programme in Nepal, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cambodia on Human rights and former Chairperson of the Kenya Constitution Review Commission and Kenya National Constitutional Conference.

It has two other members who are international figures: Ramlan Surbakti, a former deputy chairman of the Indonesia Election Commission, and Kraisak Choonhavan, President of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus.

Its three other members, all Malaysian, are lawyer Azzat Kamaludin, academic and author Mavis Puthucheary and Hermen Shastri, Secretary General of the Council of Churches Malaysia.

Bersih official Ivy Josiah told reporters the organisers had yet to decide on a venue for the hearing, but said it would be at a location within the Klang Valley.

“We would like to invite all people who witnessed any irregularities or were themselves victims of electoral fraud or are interested in testifying during the hearing to come forward from now until Aug15,” she said.

The tribunal intends to submit its final report to the Malaysian government, political parties, the EC as well as international bodies such as the United Nations.

Ambiga said the People’s Tribunal, like the 2011 Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal, had no legal standing and was relying on moral authority alone to push for action should it find irregularities in the conduct of the 13th general election.

“This tribunal is a form of citizen’s advocacy,” she said. “I put my faith in the eminent members of the panel. Although there is no legal obligation for the government to heed the results, I expect a responsible government to respond to these international experts.”