BI-PARTISAN support in Parliament is needed to amend the constitution to allow another redelineation exercise before the next general election in five years’ time, Bersih 2.0 said today.

Constitutionally, the redrawing of electoral boundaries cannot be done for another eight years, but the Election Commission’s recent exercise for GE14 should be reviewed for its malapportionment and gerrymandering, it said.

Bersih 2.0 acting chairman Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari told reporters that any redelineation must adhere to the principles in the 13th Schedule of the federal constitution, and a maximum deviation of +15% and -33% from the state average for constituency size. 

Article 46 of the Federal Constitution should be amended so the number of seats allocated per state is reflective of the number of voters in those states, he said. 

In GE14, Barisan Nasional won 79 parliamentary seats and Pakatan Harapan 122.

Sarawak’s redrawn electoral boundaries were gazetted in 2015 and Peninsular Malaysia’s earlier this year.

Bersih 2.0, in a memorandum handed to the government’s institutional reform committee today, said at the minimum, the EC must reinitiate the redelineation process for Sabah because the final proposal for the state in 2017 was not passed in Parliament.

Bersih also listed down longer-term reforms, such as lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, which would also require bi-partisan support in Parliament to amend Article 119 of the federal constitution.

Another goal was for EC to answer and report directly to the Parliament and that a permanent Parliamentary Standing Committee on Electoral Matters be established to monitor the commission. 

The appointments of EC members, it added, should be held by way of public hearings for shortlisted candidates and the final selection be done through voting in the Dewan Rakyat before presenting the names to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong for approval and appointment. – May 23, 2018.