GE14 | The Election Commission (EC) has declined a meeting by Pakatan Harapan's top leadership over the coalition's decision to use a common logo.
Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad said a reply by the EC had stated that the commission was "too busy".
"We needed to meet the commission to tell them that we are using the PKR symbol during the upcoming election...
"We set April 10 for the meeting date, but they declined, purportedly because they were busy.
"The EC was established to ensure the smooth conduct of elections. But it seems they are not keen on conducting elections properly and allowing us to field questions.
"This is the problem that we face," he told the press after chairing the coalition's leadership council today.
Mahathir read out the reply letter in the press conference.
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution had written to EC legal advisor Azizan Md Arshad to schedule a meet on the plan to use a common logo and postal voting procedures.
Among other reasons, the correspondence in reply stated that the meeting could not take place because of scheduling problems. Instead, the EC urged Harapan to wait for further notice for the meet.
Meanwhile, when asked about Harapan's backup plan, should the coalition's candidate be rejected by the EC in the last days before GE14, Mahathir said the coalition has a "secret weapon", but declined to elaborate.
"We have several ideas of what to do, but we cannot reveal it because then (caretaker prime minister) Najib Abdul Razak will know," he said.
According to Mahathir, the EC has previously stated that Harapan does not need the commission's permission to use the PKR symbol, but expressed hope that there would not be any U-turns on the policy in the 11th hour.
Harapan is adamant in using a common logo for the upcoming general election as a display of unity. However, they failed to clear the hurdle posed by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
Following this, all four component parties resolved to adopt PKR's logo as their common symbol for the ballot slips.
Although the borrowing of logos has been practicedbefore by various candidates, Harapan is seeking verification from the EC that they will pose no objections to this, come nomination day.
On April 7, EC chairperson Mohd Hashim Abdullah said only PKR flags can be displayed in constituencies by candidates who are using the PKR logo. - Mkini
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