[UPDATED] BN committed nearly half of observed election offences in Johor: Bersih

KUALA LUMPUR – Almost half of the 71 election campaign offences observed by electoral watchdog Bersih in Johor recently were allegedly committed by Barisan Nasional (BN), with Perikatan Nasional (PN) coming in second. 

Bersih spokesman Mohd Asraf Sharafi said they found BN committing 33 offences and PN 24. 

The acts in question include offering bribes, organising banquets and giveaways, abuse of government assets and resources, and campaigning on polling day. 

He noted however that the number of offences recorded does not reflect the statewide situation, as they monitored only 21 out of the 56 constituencies. 

Pakatan Harapan had allegedly committed five breaches, Pejuang was spotted making two, and seven more were made by other parties or independent candidates. 

“The total number of cases reported does not fully mirror or offer a holistic view of election offences committed during the polls, due to limited areas being monitored, with maybe more cases that went unseen and unreported,” said Asraf during the presentation over Zoom this morning. 

35 campaign offences were observed during the Melaka polls in November last year and 59 offences during Sarawak’s election in December, he added. 

Asraf said despite receiving numerous tip-offs of alleged bribes and vote-buying, Bersih only managed to witness one particular incident in a polling centre – at the Kukup voting centre in SK Serkat, Pontian – involving BN machinery.

“We saw a lady who walked out with a white envelope, where our officers witnessed for themselves the process of cash being handed out to this woman,” he said.

Asraf said they also have evidence of banquets and goodies given away such as free petrol, engine oil changes, and free food and ingredients, which Bersih had marked as breaches of election regulations.

BN, PN, and PH could all be guilty of organising such events and handing out gifts to voters, he said.

Bersih also found all three coalitions had breached election rules by campaigning on voting day, which include roadside chanting, providing designated transport for rural voters, and setting up vote canvassing booths less than 50 metres from voting centres.

EC’s shortcomings 

Bersih said there were also issues with the EC, which the group said had imposed some regulations that worked against the opposition and also deprived Covid-19 positive patients of their right to vote.

The EC had also used outdated electoral rolls, employed incompetent and untrained officers, implemented an inefficient postal voting system, and set up unclear signage for voting centres, the watchdog said.

Bersih recommended that election laws be amended to grant enforcement powers and autonomy to the EC to decide on campaign regulations.

An Independent Electoral Roll Audit Committee should also be established to update and consolidate the voter registry across the relevant agencies, and for political parties to be allowed to hold large-scale campaign events, the group said.

Bersih said political parties should be allowed to hold large-scale campaign events, and to campaign for 21 days instead of the current limit of 14 days.

The watchdog said the EC should also reintroduce voter cards to indicate locations of specific voting centres, open up polling centres in rural and hard-to-reach areas, and prepare specific transportation options for Covid-19-positive patients to cast their votes. –  The Vibes, March 30, 2022