Ambiga ticks off EC, all by-elections unexpected

 

Since opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim started the ball rolling on the Kajang by-election, there has been an endless stream of allegations about diabolical plots being hatched.

And now, the Election Commission has opened another window for speculation by delaying the polls for the state assembly seat, whose incumbent had quit on Jan 27, until March 23 - a gap of almost two months.

Under the election laws, EC has 60 days to hold the by-election and the polling day announced by the commission today is just a few days shy of the deadline.

After announcing the nomination and polling dates, EC chief Abdul Aziz Yusof took pains to explain the reasons behind the holdup.

But his bizarre reasoning that the by-election was "unexpected" left one of his staunchest critics in stitches.

Struggling to contain her laughter, former Bersih chairperson S Ambiga reminded him that all by-elections are unpredictable unless the commission has a crystal ball which could foretell impending deaths, resignations and disqualifications.

"EC's reasons for the delay in holding the by-election late do not make sense at all. Particularly, the statement that it is unexpected. Of course it is!

"By-elections are always unexpected. No one can anticipate them," she said.

Some claim that the by-election is being dragged because BN is still unable to find a suitable candidate to challenge Anwar and stop him from becoming the next Selangor menteri besar.

There is also the speculation that Umno wants the seat, believing that it stands a better chance with the 48 percent Malay voters as opposed to MCA with the 40 percent Chinese electorate.

But for Liow Tiong Lai (left) to concede the seat to Umno would be interpreted as a sign of weakness and put the newly minted MCA president in the line of fire.

Compounding the problem, Liow's camp had in the past criticised his predecessor for giving MCA seats to Umno in the previous general election.

Need for extensive preparations

Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz also revealed that the holdup was due to the EC needing to carry out extensive preparations.
      
These, he added, include preparing a complete and clean voter roll, identifying suitable voting, nomination and vote-tallying centres, and conducting training to prevent repeat of past errors such as in the filling out of ‘Borang 13' and ‘Borang 14'.

Abdul Aziz also said time was needed to arrange for indelible ink supply and to have it brought back here.

This prompted the question if the EC had been lackadaisical in terms of preparation in previous by-elections that were held soon after the seats fell vacant.

The Kajang seat fell vacant after state assemblyperson from PKR, CC Lee, quit to force a by-election to pave the way for Anwar to become menteri besar.

Eyebrow-raising statement

While PKR defended the move on the ground that Selangor needed strong political leadership to check Umno from stoking racial and religious tension, the opposition party came under fire, even from its supporters, for manipulating the democratic process.

Ambiga's successor Maria Chin Abdullah (right) also found the EC chief's remark to be strange.

"It is another eyebrow-raising statement from the EC chief, one that reveals his political bias.

"This by-election is no more unexpected than past ones, especially those arising from the death of elected reps.

"Why is the EC chief singling this one out as an excuse for holding out on the polls to the maximum timeframe allowed by the law?" she asked.

Maria also reminded the EC that it is their responsibility to ensure elections are conducted free and fair.

"A repeat of how they conducted themselves at the 13th general election will not be acceptable to all Malaysians," she added.