Watchdogs dispute EC's 'clean roll' claim
Two election watchdogs today expressed concern over the statement by the Election Commission (EC) that there have been no ‘phantom voters’ during the past 11 general elections.
EC secretary Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor told the New Sunday Times that the ‘phantom voters’ issue was created by political parties and the allegation has never been substantiated.
However, Coalition for Clean and Fair Election (Bersih) and Malaysians for Free Election (Mafrel) disagreed.
While he conceded that ‘phantom voters' is not a legal term and is used by political parties, the real issues, according to him, are "fraud and impersonation."
Voters who cast their ballots using identification documents of deceased people transgress the law and should be brought to court.
"We are concerned why EC has not taken any action on this issue. EC should do something to eliminate irregularities in the electoral rolls ahead of the coming general election," he said.
Bersih has proof
Meanwhile, Bersih secretariat member Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad claimed that the watchdog has proof that the electoral roll is far from clean."The Bersih team checked the electoral roll and found that in the third quarter of 2007, 20,643 people above the age 107 and 10,513 people above the age 108 are found in the electoral roll .
"In Selangor alone, on the gazetted list, Bersih found 312 voters above the age 100 registered last year and another 104 voters earlier this year," he said.
Dzulkifli said another ‘surreal' case is a voter who was registered in Sembulan, Sabah but transferred to Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur.
He stressed on the importance of cleaning up the roll as this will affect millions of voters since the general election is rumoured to be around the corner.
"We are worried because EC has not updated the voters on this situation." he said.
Dzulkifli said Bersih will lodge a police report regarding phantom voters in Selangor tomorrow and hold a press conference to prove the existence of phantom voters in the upcoming general election.
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Electoral reform pressure group Bersih has filed a complaint with the Election Commission’s (EC) Selangor headquarters, citing three cases of ‘fraudulent registration’ of voters.
In the same report, Bersih also complained about the existence of 104 voters, ranging in age from 100 to 129, in the fourth-quarter supplementary electoral roll for 2007, which was gazetted this month.
However, he refused to meet with homemaker T Sharmila, who had accompanied Bersih to back the complaint. Hers was one of the three cases cited.
Pressed by reporters on why he still needs time to study the matter, although the EC has received similar reports before, Jailani stressed that he has yet to read Bersih’s complaint.
"I promise I will study this matter. Please give me some time. And no comment please" he said.
Sharmila, 34, said she was shocked to find out from the EC website that she is registered as a voter in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, when she has never been there.
"I’m worried because there is no way of ensuring that no one will vote on my behalf," she said.
She has written five letters to the Selangor EC since last December, but said that each reply has failed to provide a satisfactory explanation.Sharmila further expressed dismay that she cannot vote in the forthcoming general election, expected next month, because she only managed to change her voting details in early January.
Her cousin, Dr V Sunderalingam, is in a similar predicament, as stated in Bersih’s complaint. He registered as a voter in 2003 based on the Labuan address on his MyKad, but found out in the 2004 general election that he had been assigned to Rantau Panjang, Kelantan.
He is currently based in Klang and is trying to register as a voter there.
"The crux of my complaint is that I registered based on a Labuan address, but ended up as a voter in Kelantan," said Sunderalingam when contacted.
The third case mentioned by Bersih involves Ang Lai Im of Rawang, who claimed she has been registered as a voter in the Selayang parliamentary constituency without her knowledge.
At a press conference held by Seputeh MP Teresa Kok this morning, Ang said she found out about this only after she had attempted to register as a voter in January.
‘Plenty of evidence’
At a press conference, Bersih steering committee member and PKR vice-president R Sivarasa said the details provided in the complaint are proof that the accuracy of the electoral roll is still questionable.
Sivarasa said the issues raised with the Selangor EC disproved claims by EC secretary Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor that ‘phantom’ voters do not exist.
"(In Ijok) there were voters who rose from the grave to vote. We have raised the issue with the EC before but there was no reply. We are raising the issue again today in view of Kamaruzaman’s interview," added Sivarasa.
In the interview with the New Sunday Times, Kamaruzaman had insisted that "there are no phantom voters" and that the phenomenon is the creation of political parties.
He also said that it is unlikely that an individual could be registered as a voter by fraudulent means.
"That’s impossible. In order to register, you must show your identity card (IC). Unless you lost your IC, somebody found it and registered for you. But this is most unlikely, because how are they going to sign the registration form in person?" Kamaruzaman was quoted as saying.
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