The Election Commission (EC) has set 20 November 2021 as the polling day for the Melaka state election.
Various parties have expressed concerns over having the state election, especially when the country is just beginning to recover from the Covid-19 outbreak. Yet, we have little choice. The people of Melaka have been forced into this situation because of the political games by the four state assemblypersons who withdrew their support.
Priority must now be given to ensure not only a safe but a fair and clean state election. Unfortunately, the EC and government have done very little to reform our electoral process in the past 3 years since the last general elections.
One of the issues that I have consistently asked in parliament is the status of the report by the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC). The former Perikatan Nasional (PN) government stated that a special cabinet committee for electoral reform has been established. This special cabinet committee is headed by Azmin Ali, who has done nothing on the issue.
More recently, I have proposed for the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on the Agencies under the Prime Ministers Department (of which I am a member) to summon the EC and enquire on their preparedness to hold elections during the Covid-19 pandemic. This too failed to take place.
Voter turnout will likely drop in the state election, primarily due to the people’s concern over Covid-19 and the disillusionment with politics. All stakeholders, including the government, the EC, political parties, and NGOs, must work together to strengthen public confidence in our electoral process.
The EC plays a critical role to ensure a safe, fair, and clean election. The following issues require immediate attention with regards to the Melaka state election.
- UNDI18 and Automatic Voter Registration (AVR)
- Proper SOPs
- Campaigning
- Postal voting
- Party-hopping
The biggest injustice in the state election is that UNDI18 and AVR would not be implemented in time, despite the constitutional amendment to that effect has been passed for over two years. In effect, 151,961 voters will lose their constitutional right to vote in the upcoming Melaka state election. This equals to 30% of the current electorate.
The EC must be held accountable for the failure to implement UNDI18 and AVR in time. The EC should still take immediate action to implement UNDI18 and AVR for Melaka before the election and not make further excuses.
The EC must ensure that the entire election process is safe and in line with public health protocols. Based on the experience in Sabah, the SOPs were published but not enforced. There were crowds during campaigning. In some polling stations, there was no proper physical distancing.
The EC must review existing polling stations to ensure they are still suitable for use. In the last general election, several polling stations, especially those in urban areas, were packed with voters lining up for their turn.
The EC should create new polling stations of voting streams to better manage the crowd during the election. Each voting stream in the polling stations must be properly ventilated to reduce the risk of airborne transmission
Candidates and political parties will need to change the manner of campaigning. Public rallies (ceramah) with large crowds are unlikely, given the ongoing concerns over Covid-19. To facilitate new forms of campaigning, the EC and government must ensure equal access to our national television and radio stations for all parties.
The EC has announced that postal voting is now allowed for Malaysians who are residing overseas. The previous restriction for those in southern Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, and Kalimantan, Indonesia has been removed. This decision is welcomed as it will enable more voters to vote.
However, the EC must ensure that the postal ballots are delivered and returned in time. In the past, there have been incidents where voters only received their postal ballots after the elections. There must be adequate measures to ensure the postal voting process is not manipulated.
The proposed anti-party hopping legislation is still not in place. Party-hopping may still happen after the Melaka state election, especially if the result is close. If this were to happen, we will be back to square one.
As an interim measure, all candidates should voluntarily sign a pledge, in the form of a statutory declaration, that they will not jump from the party which they represented during the election.