ELECTORAL reform group Bersih 2.0 urged Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to establish a tribunal to investigate seven commissioners of the Election Commission (EC) for misconduct.

Acting chairman Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari said the misconduct of the seven members had led to massive mismanagement and fraud during the 14th general election.

He said they had committed 10 major offenses, including gerrymandering and malapportionment, limitation on voter registration and manipulation of electoral rolls, setting a weekday for polling day, and the 11-day campaign period.

“The six who are still in office need to be held accountable for what they did prior to and during the GE14.

“Their misconduct violated the basic rights of citizens to choose the new government and threatened the very foundation of our democracy.

“The EC (commissioners), if they have lost public confidence, should no longer hold office,” he said in a press conference at Parliament today.

Other offenses were last-minute conditions on campaign materials, manipulation of international and domestic election observation, and arbitrary disqualification of candidates on nomination day.

He also said the commissioners had failed to take action against irregularities with advance voting and election offences such bribery, vote-buying, handing out gifts, and use of government machinery. 

He added that polling day was also marred with many complaints, such as incorrect labelling of ballot boxes and wrongly printed ballot papers. 

“While the chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah resigned and left the EC on July 1 for early retirement, the rest of the six commissioners still remain at the EC,” he said.

“Obviously the public has lost confidence in the existing commissioners,” he said, adding that the tribunal would restore public confidence on the independence and impartiality of the EC.

The six commissioners are deputy chairperson Othman Mahmood, Md Yusop Mansor, Abdul Aziz Khalidin, Sulaiman Narawi, K. Bala Singam, and Leo Chong Cheong.

Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong, who was present at the press conference, said the issue must be addressed before the next Sarawak state election. 

He said he had submitted a motion against the six EC members, calling for them to resign due to alleged irregularities that took place during GE14.

“I hope this motion will be debated this sitting. My constituency was one of those which were affected,” he said. – August 14, 2018.