‘Stakeholders in polls must be graft-free’
KUALA LUMPUR: All stakeholders in an election should be free from all forms of bribery and vote buying, said electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 yesterday.
Bersih 2.0 said a level playing field should be created for election candidates and political parties, adding that government machinery should not be abused.
Campaigning activities, it said, should not be carried out in contradiction with international principles on free and fair elections.
Bersih 2.0 expressed support for Election Commission chairman Azhar Azizan Harun’s statement, in which he said other election candidates should be accorded the same treatment as PKR candidate for the Port Dickson by-election Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was allowed to enter a military camp here.
The Bersih 2.0 steering committee yesterday said it shared the same concerns expressed by Lukut assemblyman Choo Ken Hwa, who raised the issue of free dinners to be given to some 3,000 people in the constituency.
“Such dinners are no different from the feast thrown by Jho Low in Penang during the 13th General Election.
“We call for the dinner event to be postponed until after the byelection.”
The committee quoted Section Eight of the Election Offences Act, which prohibits treating of food, drink, refreshment or provision to induce voters to vote for a particular candidate.
“We would like to draw the attention of all candidates and political parties to Section 15A of the same act, which prohibits expenses incurred by any person other than the candidate, his election agent and persons authorised in writing by the election agent in election campaign, whether it is for an open public meeting, open public rally or open public entertainment.
“Section 19 sets the limit of election campaign expenses to be capped at RM200,000 for a parliamentary seat.”
Therefore, Bersih 2.0 said, the expenses incurred in the free concert here during the by-election should be borne by the candidate, his election agent or the person authorised by the election agent and be included in the financial statement of the candidate’s election campaign expenditure.
The committee was referring to the two-day, free PICNIC@PD concert at the PD Waterfront on Saturday, jointly organised by Pertubuhan Khidmat Kebajikan Masyarakat Madani, the Anwar Ibrahim Club and Muafakat Anak Muda.
The event drew about 2,000 people, including Anwar and his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.