Johor polls: Groups want EC to step up voter participation efforts

 

Civil society groups have urged the Election Commission (EC) to step up its efforts to enable wider voter participation in the contentious Johor election. 

This is especially for voters residing outside the state.

In a joint call today, 43 groups including Undi18, Bersih and think tank Ideas demanded that the EC help enable Johoreans living in Singapore to return and vote.  

They also proposed setting up polling stations in other countries.

“Work with the federal government to expand vaccine travel lane (VTL) allocations for voters to return home to vote. Polling booth operating hours should be extended to accommodate necessary cross border testing and checks. 

“For those unable to return home, embassies and high commissions [...] can be centres where voters drop their postal ballots,” they suggested. 

The groups further demanded that EC facilitate postal voting for those residing in Sabah and Sarawak, whereby the commission collects ballots and sends them to Johor.

Their fourth demand was to allow university students to cast their ballots on campus ahead of polling day.  

“For students who are now on campus and undergoing examinations, a dedicated facility should be set up to facilitate early voting. This will also reduce the need for them to travel back to their hometowns to vote,” they said.

Previously, opposition MPs Teo Nie Ching and Mukhriz Mahathir also urged the EC to step up its efforts.

The Johor state assembly was dissolved on Jan 22 amid a power struggle between Umno and Bersatu. A state election must be held within 60 days of that date. 

175k new young voters

The EC is scheduled to meet tomorrow to determine the dates and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the Johor election.

The groups stressed that it was the EC’s role to address challenges faced by voters. 

“Malaysians, no matter where they reside, should not be disenfranchised from exercising this ultimate democratic right.

“It is incumbent on the EC to consult with overseas Malaysians and outstation voters to understand the concerns and challenges when it comes to voting, especially in the era of endemic Covid-19,” they said. 

The upcoming state poll is the first time where Malaysians aged 18 and above can vote. It is also the first election since automatic voter registration was implemented. 

The rule changes are expected to add some 750,000 voters to the roll, of which 175,000 are under 21 years old. 

This increases the existing number of voters in Johor by almost 30 percent since 2018’s GE14, from 1.8 million voters to 2.5 million voters. - Mkini