EC disallows Mafrel in Sarawak state election

"According to Bernama, the Election Commission (EC) has decided not to give accreditation to Mafrel (Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections) to be an independent observer in the Sarawak state election, polling of which is to take place on April 16.

EC secretary Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria is reported to have said that this was because Mafrel had failed to fully comply with EC's requirements. "Among them is for Mafrel and its affiliates to be non-partisan in their work," he said in a statement."


"How will electoral fraud and abuse take place in Sarawak? Some of the most prominent forms include the following:

Manipulation of voter registration and postal voters
Polling arrangements
Vote counting/tabulation/reporting
Biased electoral authority
Dispute adjudication
Media coverage
Misuse of resources
Vote buying
Voter intimidation and/or obstruction
Candidate intimidation and/or obstruction
Legal framework

Finally, this list includes the blocking of observer access to the voting process – a measure which is right now being implemented by the EC."

More where that came from:

Monitoring the Dirtiest Elections Ever
by Dr Lim Teck Ghee

http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2158:monitoring-the-dirtiest-elections-ever&catid=118:cpi-press-releases&Itemid=162

The facts gathered by Dr. Lim would have refuted Nazri's claim that our elections were fair because opposition won some seats (in 2004) or opposition won more seats (in 2008). With fair elections, opposition could have won more seats in 2004 and could even have won at federal level in 2008.

EC should have allowed Mafrel and let the public judge their observation and opinions instead of disallowing them from the outset, which leaves a bad impression on EC. The public would perceive that the Commission has something to hide instead.

Link