Voters won’t return for separate state polls, Guan Eng cautions PH

 

Some voters had apparently said they would not turn up for the coming general election if the state elections are not held concurrently.

PETALING JAYA: DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said Pakatan Harapan should be open to holding parliamentary and state elections simultaneously in Penang, citing possible low voter turnout if polls were to be held separately.

Lim said voters based outside Penang might not return to cast their ballots for the state election if it is held next year.

“Some even say they may not turn up for the coming general election if the state elections are not held concurrently,” he told FMT.

The former Bagan MP said the opposition coalition also needed to factor in the cost of holding elections separately.

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“Now that the general election is forced upon the rakyat by BN, they might as well have state elections since the people have to come out and vote anyway for the parliamentary seats.

“Why burden the rakyat with the additional cost of doing it all over again by coming back a second time?”

Lim went on to say that the sentiment on the ground indicated that voters wanted to punish Barisan Nasional for pushing the 15th general election (GE15) despite the looming monsoon season and the country’s current economic climate.

The former finance minister claimed that apart from voters from Penang, some from Selangor – whose state government had decided not to dissolve the state assembly – also felt that concurrent elections should be held in order “to punish BN twice”.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim previously said PH-led states, namely, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, would not hold state elections as it wanted its governments to focus on flood preparations during the monsoon season, expected from mid-November until early next year.

Asked about the reluctance of PKR and Amanah to have concurrent elections, Lim said the matter would be discussed by the coalition’s top leaders.

“However, we (PH) need to focus on winning this general election (by having concurrent elections) in order to maximise our electoral prospects so that we can do something for the people.

“I also think that having both parliamentary and state elections together will energise our election machinery, particularly when BN and Perikatan Nasional are fighting (each other).”

Lim said if PN was wiped out in GE15, there was nothing to stop PAS from reteaming with Umno under Muafakat Nasional (MN).

A straight fight between PH and MN in a separate election eight months from now would be much more challenging and riskier, Lim said, especially when compared to the prospect of the opposition emerging victorious at the impending polls.

Earlier, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow told reporters that he preferred having the state’s election run concurrently with GE15, citing easier logistical arrangements. - FMT