Post GE13: How Will The Election Commission Improve The Electoral System For GE14?
Post GE13, the Election Commission (EC) has been under fire for a host of issues for keeping Barisan Nasional in power. The opposition and Malaysians unhappy with the alleged 'unfair' electoral system have called for the EC to step down. How will the EC respond to this, and how will they improve the electoral system for GE14?
By Mei Mei Chu — 27 May 2013, 11:24 AM — Updated over 10 years ago
EC Deputy Chairman Wan Ahmad Says Goodbye Tomorrow, 28 November 2013
Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar will retire tomorrow after serving the EC for 16 years.
EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof, in a statement, said Wan Ahmad's compulsory retirement at 66 was in accordance with Article 114 (3) of the Federal Constitution.
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Wan Ahmad was appointed deputy chairman on Dec 17, 2004. Before his appointment, he was the EC secretary for more than six years from May 20, 1998 until he retired from public service on Nov 28, 2004.
In his 16-year tenure with the EC, he has been involved in four general elections (1999, 2004, 2008 and 2013) and 42 by-elections.
thestar.com.myHe was also an election observer in several countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, India, South Africa, and Bosnia and Herzegovina during his time with EC.
"The EC would like to thank Datuk Wan Ahmad for his services and we wish him good health and luck in the future," said the statement.
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Ambiga says the electoral body cannot be trusted to clean up the rolls
Bersih co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan told the Malaysian Insider that the electoral body cannot be trusted to clean up the rolls.
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"This is nothing new, they have been saying that they would clean up the electoral rolls for years and yet, we keep finding flaws. I don't believe them. They are just not doing a thorough job."
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Ambiga called on the EC to work on a suggestion made during the ongoing Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry to delete the current electoral roll and re-register voters.
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The lawyer and former Bar Council chairman also challenged the EC to involve civil societies and representatives from every political party in the cleaning-up exercise to ensure there were no irregularities.
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EC says they are cleaning up the voter lists and will issue regular reports
Stung by repeated criticisms over tainted electoral rolls, the Election Commission (EC) has formed an internal committee to clean up the voter lists with the first report to be released later this month.
yahoo.comEC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (pic) said the committee began work after the May 5 general elections and would ensure the rolls for the next elections would be reliable and free from controversy.
"It is the EC's main priority to review the electoral rolls which has been said to be problematic by certain quarters. EC officials from all states are working together to clean up the electoral rolls and the committee will issue a report this month and from time to time," Wan Ahmad said.
Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 and other civil groups have been asking for the rolls to be cleaned up since Election 2008, after allegations surfaced of phantom voters and foreigners in the lists based on identity cards issued by the National Registration Department.
yahoo.comEC says they will fully cooperate with the MACC to conduct investigations
The Election Commission (EC) is ready to be investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the purchase of indelible ink used during the 13th general election (GE13).
"The EC is transparent and professional and will fully cooperate with the MACC to conduct investigation," he said in a statement to Bernama here Monday.
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Abdul Aziz hopes the investigation will deflect allegations against the EC and clean up its image.
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MACC director of investigation Datuk Mustafar Ali said yesterday it is investigating the EC following allegations of corruption, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the purchase of indelible ink.
Mustafar also confirmed that an investigation team had been established to conduct investigation of all reports and allegations made.
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The Malaysian Insider says EC workers received RM200 million bonus from Putrajaya
According to The Malaysian Insider, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said in a reply to Dewan Rakyat that the Ministry of Finance allocated RM400 million for the GE13 expenditure but the final total after overtime, utilities, rental and more came to RM 92, 354,000.
Image via akamaihd.netPutrajaya gave RM200 million in bonuses to Election Commission (EC) officials and workers on duty for Election 2013, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat today.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said RM400 million was allocated to the EC for the May 5 general election, which was a 100 per cent increase from the budget for the 2008 general election.
yahoo.com"The expenditure cost for the 2013 General Election that was approved by the Ministry of Finance was RM400 million," Shahidan said in his reply.
"The payment for services and bonus to all election workers is RM204,100,000," he added.
yahoo.comShahidan juga berkata SPR diberikan sebanyak RM5,081,000 diberikan untuk elaun lebih masa, bayaran utiliti (sewaan pengangkutan, barung semak daftar pemilih, peralatan ICT, sewaan talian, telefon dan faks, dan lain-lain) sebanyak RM98,465,000 dan lain-lain perbelanjaan pula sebanyak RM92,354,000.
First by-election to be held in Terengganu following ADUN Rahman Mokhtar's death
First by-election to be held in Terengganu following ADUN Rahman Mokhtar's death. What does this mean to BN?
Image via imgur.com
First by-election to be held in Terengganu following Rahman Mokhtar's demise<br/><br/>
Image via googleusercontent.comKuala Besut assemblyperson Dr A Rahman Mokhtar passed away today, believed to be from pneumonia, at the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah in Kuala Terengganu.
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He died at about 10.18am today, after having been warded at the hospital’s CCU for the past seven days.
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The Kuala Besut by-election would be pivotal for Barisan as the ruling coalition only won 17 seats in Election 2013 to Pakatan Rakyat's 15 seats.
There could be changes in the state government and a possible Pakatan victory in the by-election would cause a hung state assembly.
The Election Commission (EC) is required to have the by-election within 60 days after receiving notice on the vacancy Kuala Besut state seat.
Election Commission chairperson receives rotting chicken head and threat note
The Election Commission chairman received a parcel containing a rotting chicken head and note demanding his resignation a few days ago.
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Kotak berbungkus plastik lutsinar yang mengandungi nota ‘Letak jawatan atau....505,’ diterima dan dibuka seorang kakitangan pejabat Pengerusi SPR semalam, selepas diserahkan petugas bahagian teknologi maklumat.
Bungkusan dialamatkan kepada Aziz Yusof beralamat di Tingkat 4 bangunan SPR dihantar menerusi Pos Laju oleh pengirim beralamat di Kelana Jaya, Selangor.
hmetro.com.myAn EC staff said that the parcel, which was addressed to Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, had been delivered around 2.30pm several days ago. The sender was identified as "Thalwar Thakur" from Kelana Jaya.
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Election Commission chairperson says the indelible ink was a failure
The Election Commission admits failure of indelible ink during the 13th general election. Its chairperson, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (pic) expressed his disappointment with reports that the ink could be washed off easily.
"If people ask me now, what is the saddest thing in my life, I would answer: ‘Indelible ink'," said Abdul Aziz during an interview with Malay daily, Sinar Harian.
yahoo.comAccording to Mr Abdul Aziz, the commission tested the ink several times prior to the general election. However, he stopped short of explaining why the indelible ink had caused so much sadness to him.
“On the much-awaited day, the power of Allah (God) is greater when the ink could disappear after being washed several times. Where is the mistake?” said Mr Abdul Aziz.
EC chairman says only the King can make them quit
Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof today said the EC leadership will not resign just to meet the demand of those who are dissatisfied with the election results.
malaysiandigest.comThe resignation of members of the EC, which is an independent body, cannot be made by force, he said. "It can only be done by law," he said in an interview on Nasional FM radio today.
Aziz said only the king had the power to order the EC leadership to step down if they were found to have violated the election regulations and the Constitution.
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"If we have violated the law, the best thing they can do is to file a petition and take us to court ... prove that we are wrong first and we'll see," he said.
He said the commissioners can only be removed due to bankruptcy or when they hold another post with income, become an elected representative, are convicted of a crime or suffer from mental illness.
malaysiandigest.comEC deputy chariman says utmost transparency in redelineation exercise
How the election boundary redelineation exercise will be done. Image from The Star.
Image via windows.netThe Election Commission (EC) will begin a review of the country's electoral boundaries by the end of this year, and has assured the public of “utmost transparency” in the exercise.
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EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said the commission would display the draft of its redelineation to the public for registered voters, state governments and local councils to present their views and objections before submitting the final report to the Dewan Rakyat for approval.
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“This exercise will be conducted according to the utmost level of transparency before going to Parliament to be debated, so there is no question of us trying to conceal anything from the people,” EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said.
Responding to allegations that the EC would attempt to gerrymander the electoral boundaries to favour Barisan Nasional, Wan Ahmad said: “Many people are unaware of how the review is conducted and merely believe some political parties which accuse us of not doing our job in accordance with the law.”
EC to start redrawing electoral boundaries soon
A study on the redelineation of electoral constituencies, which was postponed two years ago, will begin soon, said Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.
thestar.com.my
He said the redelineation of electoral constituencies and boundaries would be carried out in accordance with Article 113 (2) (ii) of the Federal Constitution as the last exercise was done ten years ago
malaysiandigest.com"The last exercise should have been conducted in 2011 as the latest one was done in 2003, but we had to postpone it until the 13th general was over.
thestar.com.my
"The review and redelineation of the parliamentary and state constituencies has to be carried out as the constitution stipulates than the EC has to carry out the exercise once every eight years.
malaysiandigest.comHe said the redelineation exercise was very important because the country had undergone many changes, including migration of people from city to city, over the last 10 years.
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Why the sudden focus on redelineation after GE13?
Why redelineation is important: The allegedly unfair dispersal of voters in constituencies here has been used as a major argument point by PR lawmakers to back accusations that gerrymandering in favour of BN has helped the ruling pact stay in power.
Image via thenutgraph.com