PUTRAJAYA must appoint an electoral expert with significant experience working on electoral reforms as the next Election Commission (EC) chairman when its current chief Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh retires next month, said Undi18.
The civil society movement said the new chairman should have experience in on electoral reforms and a reformist who will make the necessary changes to the electoral system as well as an independent candidate without political affiliations.
In a statement on Tuesday (April 9), Undi18 said it would be a betrayal of the people’s mandate should the prime minister “miss the opportunity and neglect their responsibility to appoint a competent, independent, and reform-minded EC chairperson”.
It said the government must not only appoint the new EC chairman wisely, but it must also ensure the government’s motto of transparency, accountability, and reform is reflected in the appointment.
Noting that electoral reforms and good governance had long been Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) rallying cry, Undi18 said it would be a “betrayal of the people’s mandate” should the government miss the opportunity to appoint a “competent, independent, and reform-minded” EC chairman.
“Undi18 strongly urges the prime minister to ensure that the Madani government’s spirit of transparency, accountability, and reform is reflected in the appointment of the new EC chairman,” it said.
Critical time
According to Undi18, the EC chair vacancy comes at a critical time, coinciding with the electoral re-delineation of Malaysia.
The exercise is ongoing in Sarawak, next year in Sabah and 2026 in the peninsula.
Undi18 said the redelineation of electoral boundaries was particularly crucial as it would be the first electoral boundary review since the implementation of the Undi18 Bill which has seen over eight million new voters added to the electoral roll.
It said the government must ensure that the redelineation exercise takes place independently and transparently, and without any interference from the administration or politicians.
Undi18 also urged the EC to speed up reforms for other aspects of the country’s electoral system such as changes to the postal voting system, amendments to the Electoral Offences Act, and the implementation of election expenditure audits for candidates and political parties. – April 9, 2024
