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Free Malaysia Today

Poll observers: GE13 unfair, partially free

IDEAS and CPPS find that the general election was unfair and partially free not because of polling day itself, but the weeks leading up to it.

The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) said that media bias, abuse of government facilities, lack of integrity in the electoral roll, Registrar of Society’s (ROS) perceived bias, uneven delineation, lack of transparency in political financing, and ethnic issues exploited for partisan purposes resulted in an “unfair election”.

Meanwhile, the elections were “partially free” because while people had the right to vote, the above factors made the freedom of choice “incomplete”.

But Wan Saiful Wan Jan, executive director of IDEAS, and Ramon Navaratnam who is chairperson of CPPS, said they personally believed the election results remained “credible” despite its unfairness.

“There could have been some little discrepancies which might have affected results, but overall it captured the spirit of Malaysians who returned the government with a narrower margin,” said Ramon.
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1. The media was heavily biased in favour of Barisan Nasional. State-funded media platforms have been abused to project partisan views to the public.

2. There were doubts about the EC’s impartiality and competency despite their many efforts to improve the electoral system. They were seen as being part of an already biased civil service. The fact that EC members repeatedly issued statements that could be construed as partisan did not help. Their defensiveness when criticised further angered the public.

3. Trust in the integrity of the electoral roll is low. This resulted in the public being very cautious when there were reports of foreigners being flown in, when they saw foreign-looking individuals, or when the indelible ink was seen as ineffective.

4. The Registrar of Societies did not treat all political parties equally, delaying the registration process of non-BN parties.

5. Constituency sizes are too unequal, allowing parties that win many smaller seats to win parliament, despite not commanding popular support.

6. Financing of political parties is not transparent, resulting in a big lack of clarity about the financial standing of the competing parties.

7. During the campaigning period, government and armed forces facilities were repeatedly used for campaigning purposes during the official campaign period.

8. Racial issues were dangerously exploited for political gains. There were many instances of BN fishing for votes by sowing mistrust between the Chinese and Malay communities.

Poll observers: GE13 unfair, partially free

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Free Malaysia Today

PKR sets up team to probe polls fraud

Led by its strategy director, Rafizi Ramli, the team will also work closely with its Pakatan Rakyat allies and Bersih

PETALING JAYA: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim today announced that the party has set up a team to gather information on electoral fraud across Malaysia.

“The team led by party strategy director Rafizi Ramili has already started work to gather evidence and information pertaining to the issue,” said Anwar.

Also present were PKR vice presidents Tian Chua and Fuziah Salleh.

PKR sets up team to probe polls fraud

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Free Malaysia Today

Silent walk to protest GE results

A group of young Sabahans expressed their disappointment with the election results by participating in a silent walk.

PETALING JAYA: A group of young voters in Sabah participated in a silent walk yesterday to express their disappointment over the election results which they felt did not reflect the nation’s desire for a change in government.

Clad in black attire with tape over their mouths, more than 150 Sabahans thronged Suria Sabah Shopping Mall on May 6 at 5pm and walked through the streets of Kota Kinabalu’s commercial strip.

Asked on why they decided to organise the walk, Sabrina Aripen from NGO Borneo Youth Revolution said: “What else can we do but mourn (the death of Malaysian democracy)?”

A brief confrontation between the silent walkers took place in front of the Umno office premise when an Umno representative came down from the office and tried to explain the nature of the ‘handouts’ given out on election day.

The personnel, however, declined the walkers’ requests to disclose the sum of money given out, which miffed the crowd. The confrontation broke up when two policemen instructed the crowd to disperse.

Silent walk to protest GE results

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FMT News ‏@fmtoday 23h

PKR sets up team to probe polls fraud | Free Malaysia Today http://shar.es/lkQb3  @rafiziramli @anwaribrahim @fuziah99 @NajibRazak #GE13

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Malaysiakini

PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim today announced that newly-minted Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli will head a team to investigate electoral fraud as Pakatan Rakyat refuses to accept the 13th general election results.

“It is a dictate of our conscience to reject the election results until a reasonable justification is provided by the Election Commission,” he said in a press statement today.

Anwar (right) said the team has already begun work to gather all information and proof of fraud and irregularities across the country.

“His team will match the proof against an empirical analysis of the specific constituency’s result to highlight the constituencies whose result is in dispute,” he said.

Anwar adds that the team, along with similar teams from DAP and PAS, will work closely with electoral reform group Bersih’s people’s tribunal to address this matter.

“In the next few weeks, we will present to the public proof that (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak won this election through frauds and irregularities,” he said.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/229391

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