Reps from 14 nations invited to monitor GE14
ARAU: The Election Commission (EC) has invited 14 countries from the Commonwealth and Southeast Asian nations to observe and monitor how the 14th general election is conducted, said said its chairman Tan Sri Hashim Abdullah.
It has been a practice for the Election Commission to bring in international observers to monitor the process of Malaysia’s elections. “What certain parties ask is not new. We have been practising it all this while,” he said during a press conference after launching the “Jom Kita Semak Undi” and “Jom Kita Undi” campaign at Universiti Malaysia Perlis yesterday.
He said the commission also invited several apolitical international non-governmental organisations and university students to participate in monitoring the election.
This comes after the opposition coalition urged the government to invite independent election observers to monitor the 14th general election process.
On another matter, Hashim urged political parties to comply with the EC requirement to sent their respective agents during the vote counting process.
“Political parties regardless from BN or the Opposition, should be ready to sent their two agents to observe the counting process. If they send only one, they might miss some of the counting process.”
Earlier in his speech, Hashim said there are about 3.6 million people aged 21 and above who have not registered as voters.
He said as of the fourth quarter of last year, a total of 14,968,304 million people have registered and are eligible to vote.
Meanwhile, Hashim said it does not have the authority to take action against political parties for placing illegal banners or posters at public places before the official start of the campaigning period.
He said only local authorities have the power to act against such illegal acts before the nomination day.
Meanwhile, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has warned political parties not to affix flags or banners on any of its facilities or infrastructure.
Its chief corporate officer Datuk Roslan Ab Rahman said the act poses a danger due to the risk of being electrocuted and may cause power supply interruptions.