ERC proposes tripartite to restore confidence in elections

The Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) has proposed that elections should be managed by three separate bodies to restore public confidence in the electoral system.

ERC chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman (above) said that under the proposed system, the Election Commission (EC) would make and implement policies relating to elections.

A separate body will be tasked with the running of elections, while a third entity - the Electoral Redelineation Commission (SPPR) - will be responsible for redelineating electoral boundaries.

This was among 49 proposals that the ERC made to the government to improve Malaysia’s electoral system.

“We want to restore everyone’s confidence, now that there are some who said they are not confident (in the electoral system).

“We have come up with reforms after conducting studies in many countries. We are proposing three bodies, but they are related to one another,” Rashid told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Currently, all three functions are conducted by the EC alone.

The ERC was established by the previous Pakatan Harapan administration in August 2018 to propose improvements to Malaysia’s electoral system.

The 49 proposals came from 21 rounds of discussions with stakeholders over a 16-month period. The ERC had submitted its interim report to then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Jan 13 this year.

Rashid also said the EC should be given powers over political parties that are currently under the Registrar of Societies’ jurisdiction.

“Give some teeth, so that the EC can rein in political parties.

“We also propose in our report that that election (campaign) expenses should be audited. This will be one of the EC’s functions in the future,” he said.

Election Commission

To ensure fairness in redelineating electoral constituencies, Rashid said SPPR should be set up from time to time to conduct the exercise.

“The (SPPR) would only function for two years to carry out the study on redelineation. After it has wrapped up its task, the commission would be dissolved.

"This is so the EC is not accused (of not acting fairly), now there are many accusations that the EC is taking sides,” he said.

The Federal Constitution currently requires the EC to conduct redelineation exercises once every eight years, and each exercise should be completed within two years.

Meanwhile, Rashid said the ERC’s full report has been submitted to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

"I was informed that the report would be looked at and studied by members of the cabinet. When? I do not know,” he said. - Mkini