EC says May 26 last date for simultaneous State and Parliament elections

BUKIT TINGGI: May 26 is the latest date on which simultaneous Parliament and State elections can be held following the expiry of the Negri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, said Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

While Parliament's five-year term ends on Apr 27, those of several State Legislative Assemblies will end earlier with Negri Sembilan the first to expire on March 26.

Polls for state seats in Negri Sembilan must therefore be held within 60 days from that date, said Abdul Aziz.

"We are trying our best to hold polls simultaneously in all states along with Parliamentary polls, which means that I have until May 26 to hold simultaneous polls because Negri Sembilan will expire by then and since no State Assembly can stretch its term beyond five years," Abdul Aziz told reporters after briefing Returning Officers (RO) from the Federal Territories at a resort here.

Abdul Aziz expressed confidence that the governments in Pakatan Rakyat ruled states of Penang, Kelantan and Kedah will seek to dissolve their State Legislative Assemblies on the same date with the Dewan Rakyat.

"The only state we are unsure about is Selangor but it does not matter because even if they decide to dissolve after Parliament, we still have room to hold polls simultaneously."

Abdul Aziz said that if Negri Sembilan's State Legislative Assembly is allowed to run its full term until Tuesday, the state will then be run by a caretaker government.

The State Assembly Speaker, Mentri Besar and Exco members will continue administering the state to carry out whatever policies set by the now-expired state government but they cannot create new policies or table a new budget.

On the EC's state of readiness Abdul Aziz said the Commission was 90% ready for the polls with all equipment and facilities ready with the commission's staff and volunteers now fully trained.

In addition, the order of indelible ink which will be used for the first time in the coming polls has also arrived in Malaysia and is being stored in air-conditioned room to preserve the quality of the 210,000 bottles of ink.

The storage area, whose location Abdul Aziz declined to reveal, is being monitored by closed circuit television (CCTV) to prevent theft.

The ink, said Abdul Aziz will be distributed to each state on the day of Parliament's dissolution and will be given to each Parliamentary constituency's Returning Officer on nomination day.

On the campaign period, Abdul Aziz said that there would be a minimum of 11 days.

He said some parties had requested for up to one month, which he said the EC would consider based on factors such as current political developments and whether there were any cultural or religious events during the period.

"We have yet to decide on the length of the campaign period but what I can say is that it won't be too long or too short."

On another matter, Abdul Aziz said the Returning Officers for the 22-parliamentary constituencies who had all been appointed yesterday have begun processing the postal voting applications by overseas Malaysians with 7,213 applications received so far.

He said information about the approved applications will be uplodated on the EC website (http://www.spr.gov.my) with voters to be notified by email.

By RAZAK AHMAD

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EC: 30-day stay condition for outstation voters fair

KUALA LUMPUR: The condition that outstation voters must have returned to Malaysia in the last five years and stayed no fewer than 30 days in the country is reasonable, said EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.

He said the condition was simple and appropriate, and had also been adopted by other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada, while Singapore set it at three months.

"Thirty days in a period of five years, not 30 days consecutively. Voting is not just a right but a responsibility to the country. The EC also looks at it as showing love for country and still having a link with the homeland," he said after being interviewed on RTM's "Selamat Pagi Malaysia" talkshow at Wisma TV, Angkasapuri here on Sunday.

Wan Ahmad said the condition was proposed to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Electoral Reforms who approved it.

He said the decision to set the condition of five years and 30 days was made by the EC, as provided for under the Election Laws and Regulations.

"As a constitutional organisation, the EC has the authority to set certain conditions and procedures," he said, dismissing claims by certain quarters that the condition was not discussed at the committee stage at Parliament.

Wan Ahmad said since Jan 21, the EC had received 500 applications from Malaysians living abroad to become postal voters in the 13th general election.

He expected the applications to increase with the simplified process of sending back the form to the EC via email.

"The opportunity for Malaysians to be outstation voters is a political transformation and a paradign shift in the democratic process," he said. - Bernama