Bersih seeks 100,000 objections to redelineation

PETALING JAYA: Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 (Bersih) aims to get at least 100,000 Selangor voters to sign up as objectors to defeat Election Commission’s (EC) controversial redelineation exercise.

Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said the group is concerned with EC’s second display of the proposed changes to the redelineation of electoral boundaries in Selangor last Monday, although it had reverted to roughly the same boundaries used in the 2013 general election.

She said the state and parliamentary seat boundaries used in 2013 were not without malapportionment and gerrymandering.

“We are calling on concerned voters to sign up as objectors to the second display of the proposed redelineation boundaries in Selangor with immediate urgency,” she said.

“Bersih’s call for 100,000 objectors is a show of rakyat’s protest against the continuation of unconstitutional redelineation,” she told a press conference at Bersih headquarters at 8 Avenue Business Centre.

A valid objection to the proposed redelineation must be accompanied by 100 signatures or more, with a spokesman.

Selangor has 22 parliamentary and 56 state seats.

Maria said Bersih has identified 12 objection collection centres, which can be found at dart.bersih. org/pusatbantahan.

She said objections should be submitted on or before Feb 14, after which the EC will launch inquiries to discuss concerns stated in the objections.

“The final report will then be sent to the prime minister who will then table it in Parliament for adoption,” she added.

Meanwhile, Penang Institute’s Wong Chin Huat said there is a risk that the Selangor government might fall to Barisan Nasional under the proposed redelineation.

He said the risk is even greater when coupled with other factors, such as low voter turnout and multi-cornered fights.

“It is possible that Selangor may change hands (in GE14),” he said.

Wong said he foresees that under such conditions, the ruling coalition might receive an additional 15 parliamentary seats to regain the two-thirds majority in Dewan Rakyat.

“This will give them a free hand to add seats and trigger another round of delineation,” he added.