NOVEMBER 5, 2022 made history when a total of 945 candidates from various parties submitted their nomination papers for GE15. Based on data displayed at the Election Commission headquarters, a total of 441 candidates will contest 117 state seats.  

Under the Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulation 1981, each constituency can nominate more than one candidate. The Batu parliamentary seat has 10 contestants.   

After nomination day, all parties and independent candidates will kickstart their campaigning, which will last for 14 days.  

This is where the nominated candidates will meet and greet people in the constituencies. This is where they will openly make promises and reveal their manifesto.  

A manifesto is a public declaration of policy and aims that is issued before an election by a political party or candidate.  

There are certain rules that candidates need to comply with, and any contravention of such rules is an offence under the Election Offences Act (EOA) 1954, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, and the Penal Code.  

Under Section 4A of EOA 1954, it is an offence to promote hostility. As such, any person convicted of such an offence cannot be registered or elected at an election. 

Under Section 24B, during the campaign period, the candidate may (a) hold and organise an open public meeting, open public rally or entertainment, or (b) give an open public address or open public lecture in the constituency in which the candidate seeks election, but he has to notify the police officers in charge of the district for him to hold such a campaign (S24B(3) EOA 1954). 

Part III of the Act lists practices that are categorised as corrupt acts. 

Section 8 of the EOA 1954 states that offering any food, drink, or refreshment to voters constitutes an act that corruptly influences the person to give or refrain from giving his vote. 

Under Section 9 of the EOA 1954, “undue influence” states that any person who threatens with force, violence, or restraint any other person directly or indirectly in order to induce or compel them to vote or refrain from voting is deemed to be interfering with the right to vote freely.  

Section 10 of the same act caters to bribery.  Bribing a person, especially during an election, takes many forms, and anything that leads to promises, money, gifts, loan procurements and more is an offence.  

Malaysia has yet to table a political funding bill. As such, there is no proper law that monitors cash flows into each party or how a party would fund itself in the coming election.   

Having said that, under the law, each candidate can spend a maximum of RM200,000 for a parliamentary seat and RM150,000 for a state assembly seat. 

An election candidate must submit an audited report of all expenses incurred to the Election Commissioner within 8 weeks from the publication of the election result (Section 19 (1A) EOA 1954).  

In short, it is the duty of the candidates to make sure that these laws are being followed to avoid any issues cropping up as the ‘rakyat’ goes to vote for a better Malaysia. – November 7, 2022.  

* Matilda George reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.