KUALA LUMPUR – The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) is calling on Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to reconsider the total ban on physical gatherings for the upcoming Melaka election.
It expressed concern that, as state media agencies have a tendency to give wider coverage to parties aligned with the ruling coalition, opposition candidates will be placed at a disadvantage.
Instead, the election watchdog suggested the government implement stricter enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) under the National Recovery Plan by increasing the number of enforcers during campaigning.
It said any violators should be fined or prosecuted under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, regardless of their political affiliations.
“While we acknowledge that the risk is real and precautions are necessary, such a total ban is a suppression of all candidates’ right to campaign and express themselves, the voters’ right to make an informed decision by hearing from the candidates and, ultimately, is a suppression of democracy itself,” it said in a statement today.
“While the ban is on all political parties and candidates, we are concerned that it would grossly disadvantage those parties that are not part of the ruling government, as state media tends to focus almost exclusively on the activities and achievements of ruling parties’ candidates and highlight failures of the opposition.”
The Election Commission (EC) has set November 20 as polling day for the state election and November 8 for nomination, giving parties 12 days to campaign. Early voters can cast their ballots on November 16.
Yesterday, Khairy said any activity, gathering or social event related to the polls will not be allowed from now till November 27.
He said that due to the high risk of Covid-19 transmissions, especially with the presence of the Delta variant, such activities will increase the prevalence of the virus in the community.
However, Bersih 2.0 pointed out that Melaka entered Phase 4 of the NRP on October 18, in which social activities are allowed.
It said although gatherings are limited to 50% of the venue capacity with physical distancing, the minister’s ruling is inconsistent with the NRP’s guideline as it targets only election-related activities.
On nomination day, Bersih 2.0 suggested candidates have no less than seven days to file their nomination papers to avoid surprise rejections.
“The list of successful candidates can be displayed online on nomination day at 10am. This would remove the need for political parties’ supporters and candidates to gather at nomination centres throughout Melaka,” it said.
During political gatherings or rallies, authorities can ensure chairs are provided and are set at least 1m apart, with all attendees seated, Bersih 2.0 said.
It added that this could apply to small gatherings at coffee shops and day or night markets, with masks to be worn at all times by all speakers and attendees.
“For house-to-house visitations, the number of people allowed to be part of a group should be limited to five, and they must not enter the house or be at least 2m away from households when speaking,” it said.
“The EC could call on government-owned TV and radio broadcast outlets to provide designated time slots for party political broadcasts to all contesting parties and independents. Time allotted should be equal regardless of party.”
It also called on broadcast media outlets to organise discussion panels for candidates where local issues can be discussed and candidates’ views can be heard, with debates between chief ministerial candidates organised and aired on state television channels at least twice – right after nomination day and two days before polling day.
“The EC could provide and sponsor at least one designated billboard display in a prominent location in each of the 28 state constituencies, where the details of the contesting candidates are displayed with their party symbols,” it said.
“This would help smaller parties and independent candidates in getting much-needed visibility.”
For polling day, Bersih said the EC could consider extending polling to three days and assign different time slots for different categories of people according to age to avoid crowding.
“Stringent social distancing, masking and sanitising SOPs must be adhered to and all election workers must be properly trained to keep themselves and voters safe from infections,” it said.
“Voters who are unvaccinated should not be unduly inconvenienced from exercising their voting rights. A health safety booth could be set up to provide instant RTK-Antigen saliva or nasal swab tests to confirm that they are Covid-19 negative before they are allowed to vote with the other voters.”
It added that those who test positive should be allowed to cast their vote separate from the rest within the health booth. – The Vibes, October 25, 2021
