Tighter SOPs better than outright ceramah ban, says Bersih 2.0

 

Bersih 2.0 has suggested several measures the Election Commission can take during the Melaka state polls.

PETALING JAYA: Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin must rethink the outright ban on ceramahs and gatherings in the run-up to the Melaka state election and instead enforce tighter SOPs and deploy more manpower to help, election reform group Bersih 2.0 said.

While the ban applies to all political parties, the group’s steering committee said it is concerned that it would grossly disadvantage those who are not part of the ruling government.

In a statement, it said state media tends to focus “almost exclusively on the activities and achievements of ruling parties’ candidates, and highlight failures of the opposition”.

“While we acknowledge that the risk is real and precautions are necessary, such a total ban is a suppression of the candidates’ right to campaign and express themselves, the voters’ right to make an informed decision by hearing from the candidates, and ultimately is a suppression of democracy itself.

“Melaka entered Phase 4 of the national recovery plan (NRP) on Oct 18 where the SOPs allow social activities and visitations, limited to 50% space capacity and with physical distancing adhered to. Therefore, the health minister’s ruling is inconsistent with the NRP’s guideline as it targets only election-related activities,” it said.

Bersih 2.0 suggested that the Election Commission (EC) carry out the following to ensure fairness while also protecting the health of voters.

Nominations

• Give candidates at least seven days to file their nomination papers at the Melaka EC office so they can be checked and corrected to avoid surprise rejections.
• Display the list of candidates online on the morning of nomination day, to remove the need for a party’s supporters and candidates to gather at nomination centres.

During the campaign

• For political gatherings or ceramahs, attendees must remain seated and spaced at least 1m apart, even at small gatherings.
• Face masks must be worn at all times by all speakers and attendees.
• For house to house visits, no more than five visitors are allowed and must remain at least 2m from the home when speaking.
• Government-owned television and radio stations should provide designated equal time slots for political broadcasts for all parties and independents.
• Broadcast media outlets can organise discussion panels for candidates to discuss and debate local issues.
• Debates between chief ministerial candidates can be organised and broadcast on state television channels, right after nomination day and two days before polling day.
• The EC could provide and sponsor at least one billboard display in a prominent location in each of the 28 constituencies detailing the candidates and their parties, to help smaller parties and independents get much needed visibility.

Polling day

The EC could consider extending polling to three days and designate day and time slots for different categories of people according to age groups. This could also reduce the need for multiple streams manned by multiple sets of election workers.

• Provide a booth to administer rapid tests to confirm unvaccinated voters are Covid-19 negative before they are allowed to vote. Those who test positive should be allowed to cast their vote separately.
• Gatherings at counting and tallying centres should be restricted and all results broadcast live on national TV channels.

“Bersih 2.0 urges the EC to take this opportunity to introduce new and innovative ways like what we have proposed so that the important task of participating in an election and our democracy is not suppressed during the time of a health pandemic.

“While the health ministry must play its part to ensure infections are kept low, it must not overstep its role and impose unnecessary restrictions on the conduct of elections,” it said.

Meanwhile, a retired judge said Khairy is entitled to bar ceramahs and social gatherings as they will pose a danger to public health and safety.

Gopal Sri Ram said while it is the EC that determines the conduct of elections, it is the health minister who is empowered by law to determine matters of public health.

“The minister is, therefore, perfectly entitled to bar ceramahs and events which, in his objective opinion, will constitute a danger to public health and safety,” he said.

However, Sri Ram said whether the executive order issued by Khairy is reasonable and a proportionate response is for the court to decide in the event of a challenge.

“In such a challenge, the court is not concerned with the subjective view of the minister,” he said, adding that the question is whether a reasonable minister will have acted similarly.

In a separate statement, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah said that due to the ban on ceramahs and gatherings, candidates have insufficient time to set up alternative outreach methods to their voters.

The former Bersih chairman said only those adept in digital marketing may now reach their voters, which she said is an “unfair advantage”.

She called on the government to give daily prime and off-prime air time to all candidates on all TV and radio stations. - FMT