‘212,834 eligible for postal vote’

It’s not four million as claimed by some parties, says EC

PETALING JAYA: There are 212,834 voters eligible for postal voting in GE14 and not four million, says the Election Commission (EC).

EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah blamed the misconception on certain parties but did not elaborate.

“Postal voters via form 1A, such as election workers, the military, the police and members of the media make up 149,730.

“Whereas those under form 1B, such as Malaysians overseas, make up 7,979 of the total,” he said.

Besides that, requests under form 1C, which include voters from the Fire and Rescue Department, the Immigration Department, volunteer policemen, government hospi- tal and clinic workers, Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency, Malaysia Civil Defence Force, Prisons Department and the National Disaster Management Agency, make up 51,472 requests, he said.

He said civil servants, students and their respective spouses who are currently overseas make up 3,653 requests.

“The EC advises all postal voters to return the postal ballot paper to their returning officers before polling day, 5pm,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Mohd Hashim also reminded postal voters to include their identity verification forms.

He said postal voters should not believe social media claims that they need only return their ballot papers without the identity verification forms, because their votes would no longer be a secret.

The EC, he said, would act against those spreading those messages.

“All votes, including postal votes, are secret,” he said.