Inter-Research And Studies (IRAS)

By WH Cheng TheAntDaily.com, 23/10/2014 In most democratic nations, the initial stage of democratisation at the local level often includes the people’s first experience and exposure with local government elections. Elections at local government level is a good place to start developing electoral participation since local elections are the first element of democratic governance. Local elections touch the daily lives of ordinary citizens. They also embody the people’s right to vote and elect local officials and this is a necessary element of democracy. Ruling parties and political leaders usually attach greater importance and weight to state and national elections rather than local government elections. They have often argued that local government elections would not make much difference in the political life of the nation. But this is far from true. In fact, local government elections have certain distinct elements compare with state and national elections, giving it cons...

By Cindi Loo - TheAntDaily.com Barisan Nasional has been claiming a moral victory for reducing the winning margin of PAS in the recent Sungai Limau state by-election in Kedah. More importantly, in the eyes of BN, it has regained the confidence of the Chinese voters. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak proclaimed there was an increase in support by the Chinese as indicated by two ballot boxes from Chinese-majority areas that went to BN. "Previously, we lost the contest for the seat by a 2,774-vote majority, but now we have reduced it to 1,084-vote majority. It shows that there is a trend of increased support for BN,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama. But PAS promptly disputed Najib’s reading, saying that the voter turnout was smaller than it was in the May 5 general election. Only 85.5 per cent of the voters cast their ballots during the Nov 3 by-election, compared with the 89.2 per cent turnout in the May 5 polls. PAS Sungai Limau by-election committe...