CARVE out the duties and responsibilities of the Election Commission (EC) into three independent bodies for the proper management of elections and electoral integrity, election watchdog Bersih 2.0 recommended today.

The recommendations, tabled by former Bersih 2.0 outreach officer, Chan Tsu Chong, also stated that the three new commissions would have its own autonomy and jurisdiction.

Chan said the EC, in its present format, was currently burdened by all the workload of election implementation, such as voter registration, re-delineation process and election conduct.

“In the context of Malaysia, electoral reform has been a major political issue for many years. The institutional design and independence of the EC is among the key factors that have adversely affected the electoral management process and electoral integrity.

“Therefore, this report supports the argument of having multiple bodies to manage the electoral process in Malaysia,” he said during a webinar discussion this morning.

Elaborating on the three bodies, Chan said the EC can administer and conduct elections, including to manage voter registration and the electoral roll, while an Electoral Enforcement Commission (EEC) can monitor and ensure compliance to elections-related laws, including those relating to political parties.

The third body, the Electoral Boundaries Commission (EBC), can review and delimitate electoral boundaries.

In explaining the role of each commission, Chan said that the EC shall retain its primary responsibility to conduct elections whereas the EEC shall be responsible to monitor and ensure compliance with all electoral-related laws.

EBC, on the other hand, would an ad hoc body that would be automatically established when the delimitation process is required.

“The EC shall also retain its responsibility for voter registration and maintenance of the electoral roll. This would streamline the task of planning for elections, for example in creating and managing the polling districts.

“The EC shall be empowered to utilise information from other government bodies, such as the Inland Revenue Board and Road Transport Department, to update voter records in the electoral roll.

“An Electoral Roll Auditing Committee shall be established to audit the integrity of the electoral roll annually.”

He added that during an election period, the EEC shall be in charge of monitoring and ensuring compliance to the Elections Act 1958 and Elections Offences Act 1954.

Outside of an election period, the EEC shall be mandated to regulate political parties.

The EEC will be the custodian of the proposed Political Parties Act which would establish the regulations on political parties, such as the registration of political parties, reporting requirements and finances, he said.

“The EEC shall have investigative powers, such as to issue search warrants and to summon suspects and witnesses for testimony.”

As for the EBC, Chan said it shall undertake the constitutional procedures for delimitation as per the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, but the schedule being amended first to provide the EBC with the final authority to approve the delimitation proposal, he explained.

Chan said further that the EEC and the EBC shall consist among others individuals such as the Inspector General of Police, the MACC chief, the attorney-general, a Federal Court judge and the director-general of the Department of Survey and Mapping.

Political will needed

A panel member, Dr Azmi Sharom, who is the deputy chair of the EC, welcomed Chan’s suggestions but said such strong recommendations need a solid political will from lawmakers.

He said that each person nominated or appointed to be part of the commissions must also be transparent and accountable.

“I personally have no problem with the three different bodies but the question is, can it be done. It takes a lot of political will.

“There is also the issue of the independence of the commissioners themselves. We need to have competent commissioners who are transparent,” he added.

Azmi, a Universiti Malaya law professor, was appointed as the deputy chairman of the EC in February 2019.

Senator Robert Lau of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), who was also a guest speaker, mirrored Azmi’s sentiment.

He, however, said that he could not speak on behalf of his party but made his stance clear by supporting Bersih 2.0’s recommendations.

The webinar was moderated by Bersih 2.0’s Ngeow Chow Ying.

The PDF copy of the report can be downloaded here. – February 8, 2021.