EC: BN candidate shouldn't have displayed ballot paper

KUALA BESUT The action of BN candidate Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman in publicly displaying his ballot paper during polling for the Kuala Besut by-election this morning is inappropriate, the Election Commission (EC) has said.

EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (left) told a press conference in Kuala Besut today that every vote is "secret" and thus Tengku Zaihan should not have publicly displayed that he was voting for himself.

"He should not have done so. Every vote is a secret, every vote is a secret," Aziz said.

However, he said that there was no great secrecy about Tengku Zaihan's vote as he would obviously vote for BN, being the candidate for the state seat.

EC secretary Kamarudin Mohamed Baria had in late April said that the act of some individuals in uploading the pictures of their postal ballots was against the law.

Kamarudin was then quoted as saying that such acts were being investigated under Section 574 of the Penal Code.

Tengku Zaihan this morning displayed his ballot paper after marking it, to show that he was voting for the BN, shortly before dropping it into the ballot box.