The lingering distrust of EC

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This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 21/10/2016

Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, particularly from Umno, and top officials of the Election Commission (EC) have always wondered why many still do not trust the EC. Why view the electoral body and its functions with much suspicion?

The latest redelineation plan by the EC has heightened this atmosphere of mistrust, with both sides of the political divide voicing their concerns on the proposals.

Opposition parties from Pakatan Harapan and PSM, and BN’s predominantly Chinese component parties — MCA, Gerakan, SUPP and LDP – have criticised the EC proposal for promoting racial polarisation.

The complaints and objections range from proposing constituencies that are overly Malay and overly Chinese, widening disparity in number of voters between constituencies, reduction of mixed race composition, and confusion among voters on voting districts.

The main grouse of the critics is that opposition parties and BN’s “Chinese-based component parties” would be wiped out in GE14 and a more dominant Umno-based government would emerge after GE14.

The proposed redelineation could see 12 parliamentary and 34 state constituencies in the peninsular undergo a name change while in East Malaysia the EC has proposed 13 new state constituencies for Sabah, bringing the total number of state seats in Sabah to 73.
In response, EC officials were quick to deny claims of unfair redrawing of electoral boundaries, saying that the EC was exercising its roles and responsibilities as stated in the Federal Constitution.

Is the EC really independent?

The independence of the EC has been continuously questioned when the number of uneven constituencies has been increasing while the BN coalition has retained its power in Putrajaya without fail.

But a sudden wave of change swept through in 2008, causing Umno’s coalition partners MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and PPP to lose most of their seats while Umno continues to remain dominant in numbers.

BN has since lost its two-thirds majority when the opposition parties made tremendous gain nationwide following that shift in voter sentiment.

But history has proven that whenever there is a redelineation exercise, BN is sure to win comfortably.

In 1999, when Malay votes were split following the Anwar Ibrahim incident and Chinese votes were solidly with BN, redelineation was carried out to create more seats with mixed race to balance out the Malay sentiment. This kept BN in power, with MCA and Gerakan making sound gains at that time.

However, the tide turned in 2008 when these seats with mixed race composition swung to the opposition side following an increasing show of racial and religious extremism on Umno’s part.

So, what can justify claims that the EC is not an independent institution? Well, the fact is that the EC is an institution under the direct purview of the Prime Minister’s Department, which is headed by the prime minister himself, who is also BN chairman and Umno president.

The staffing of EC from the top officials to the operation personnel is also determined by the Public Service Department (PSD), which also comes under the Prime Minister’s Department.

There is no hard evidence to demonstrate the independence of the EC in running the past general elections, and, of course, the so-called advantage enjoyed by BN in previous redelineation exercises only served to reinforce suspicions.

To affirm the independence of the EC, the electoral body will need to be put under the direct purview of parliament, to be scrutinised regularly by a parliamentary select committee on electoral administration. EC officials should also be recommended and appointed by parliament.

No oversight on EC

The EC conducts redelineation exercises regularly without fail, “in accordance with the Federal Constitution”, and presented its proposal to the cabinet for review and approval before it is tabled in parliament for voting.

The major concern here is, who oversees and scrutinises whatever that is being carried out by the EC? The Prime Minister’s Department or the cabinet?

Yes, BN leaders may say that it is either one of these two. But are these two fit to oversee and scrutinise the EC? These two outfits are part of the government headed by the leader of the ruling BN, who happens to be the president of Umno, the dominant party in BN.

Why is there such a big disparity in number of voters between rural and urban seats? Why should voters be moved from one constituency to another? People are demanding that the EC justify its actions in the redelineation exercise. But will we get all the answers?

The fear is that the EC or BN will use the Official Secrets Act (OSA) against those who persist in questioning and challenging it. There is no independent oversight committee at all to oversee and scrutinise the various activities of the EC to ensure it truly works in accordance with the Federal Constitution.

Until real electoral reforms are carried out, the EC will be seen as doing nothing but Umno’s bidding. Our distrust will continue to haunt it.

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