In a statement today, it said the EC had opted to push for the redelineation cases despite significant objections on grounds such as missing addresses, malapportionment and gerrymandering.
It claimed that holding local inquiries without establishing or resolving these concerns would result in ineffective implementation, waste of government resources, and failure to take into account electoral best practices and respect for the right of voters.
“The EC and the courts are avenues of justice and a recourse to address errors and wrongs in electoral matters,” said the statement.
“They must act for the people and in the interest of the people; and as such, they should not follow the government’s election calendar when dealing with issues of re-delineation.”
Bersih 2.0 also claimed that the matter was pushed through the courts at “lightning speed”, not allowing sufficient time to respond to developments in the case.
On Dec 7, High Court judge Azizul Azmi Adnan dismissed the Selangor government’s judicial review application to challenge the EC’s exercise in redrawing the electoral boundaries.
The judge, however, allowed Selangor’s interim stay application pending the outcome of its appeal in the Court of Appeal to maintain the status quo. This meant that the EC was stopped from conducting any local inquiries.
The first Court of Appeal hearing was conducted on Dec 14, and the second hearing and decision made today.
The 2-1 majority decision was made by bench chairman Idrus Harun and Justice Yaacob Md Sam while Justice Rhodzariah Bujang held the status quo should remain to preserve the Selangor government’s appeal.
The PKR-led Selangor government filed the legal challenge in October last year, seeking to nullify the EC’s notice of redelineation, claiming it violated the Federal Constitution in drawing new electoral boundaries.
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