14 days’ campaign period sufficient, says ex-EC chairman

 

Former Election Commission chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman says two weeks to campaign is ‘fair enough for everyone’.

PETALING JAYA: Former Election Commission (EC) chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman believes that 14 days is sufficient for parties to campaign for the coming general election (GE15).

He said that from his experience, most parties, especially the smaller ones, would not prefer a longer campaign period as it is costly.incur for the parties,” he told FMT.

“It is expensive to run an election campaign. The longer it goes, the more costs it will incur for the parties,” he told FMT.

Rashid said a longer campaign period will benefit the bigger parties which have more resources and finances at their disposal, adding that the 14-day period is “fair enough for everyone”.

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Asked about the EC’s alleged lack of transparency in its SOPs to deal with floods during the elections, he said the commission should reveal its plans for the sake of public interest.

“I think the EC has made preparations, but is just not announcing them. During my time, we had contingency plans for floods or other incidents that would affect the smoothness of the elections.

“But it should speak out and be more convincing. The public needs to be educated (about the SOPs),” he said.

EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh announced yesterday that polling for GE15 will be held on Nov 19, with early voting set for Nov 15.

He said the campaigning period will be for 14 days after all the candidates are revealed on nomination day on Nov 5. - FMT