EC must exercise its independence
It cannot cave in to pressure from any political party or coalition.
With so many groups and individuals now questioning the integrity of its proposal for the redrawing of electoral boundaries, the Election Commission (EC) must ensure that it does not succumb to pressure from any political party or coalition.
It is more important than ever for it to be seen as exercising the independence that the Federal Constitution guarantees it.
The commission’s secretary, Abdul Ghani Salleh, has said the current delineation exercise was being conducted according to Clause (2) in Article 113 of the Federal Constitution and amendments to Clause (2) in Article 14 of the Sabah Constitution. As such, the EC has to display its proposals for the peninsula and Sabah for a month from Sept 15.
The provision in the Federal Constitution empowers only state governments, local governments and groups of at least 100 voters to voice their objections. This would be followed by public hearings. Complainants can seek legal redress if their grievances are not addressed.
Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary-General Tengku Adnan Tengku Adnan Mansor said on Sunday that the coalition would present its proposal to the EC before the Oct 14 deadline.
Meanwhile, Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali, complaining of the EC’s alleged failure to address issues he had raised in a letter, has instructed lawyers to handle the matter.
Last week, the commission declined to meet several MPs from the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur who said they were outraged by its proposal.
Representatives of political parties or civic groups or even individual citizens certainly have the right to meet EC officials for their queries to be addressed. However, they must all go through the legal process because the delineation exercise has started.
The EC suffers the distrust of many Malaysians. Critics allege that electoral boundaries are being redrawn to favour BN. Going by the vociferous and adverse comments that have been expressed through the media, it is reasonable to expect an unprecedented number of objections and lawsuits in the days to come.
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Will the EC act according to the spirit of the constitution?