From Chin-Huat Wong's page in Facebook:
Dear all who are concerned about the PKR elections and think #BERSIH 2.0 should look into them,
Thank you for your alerts. This is a good opportunity for BERSIH 2.0 to clarify and remind everyone what we are about, why, and how far still we have to go to attain our goals.
BERSIH 2.0 was set up to enhance democracy in the country by advocating for integrity in the process and system of electing the government and holding the ruling government to account for that.
Hence, our mandate is to the federal & state elections (local elections would count too, if they came back) wherein people's representatives are elected to public office via public funds.
With regard to the PKR elections, or any party and even NGO elections, it is an internal matter that must be addressed by the body's direct stakeholders - i.e. the members themselves.
BERSIH 2.0 is not an overseer for all manner of elections - only those that affect the general public in terms of representation in government. Our mission is to ensure that this dictum is met: *The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of the government.*
So, just as citizens - as 'members' of their country - have to hold their governments accountable, party members too must hold their leadership accountable.
As dismal as the conduct of the PKR elections was, the many wrongdoings were exposed by members and leaders - and the party leadership did not censor the complaints. Now the party will have to take remedial steps to regain the trust of not just members but even supporters, and spell out convincing measures to ensure the integrity of the party elections and results.
This is what the BN government should have done following the 13th general election last year, but did not. Till this day, the prime minister has ignored BERSIH 2.0's request for a dialogue on electoral reform. BERSIH 2.0 has had to organise a massive citizens' initiative to monitor the polls with KOMAS and MAFREL and even seek an international, independent panel's verdict via a historic People's Tribunal - all of which documented evidence that showed the people's will had been subverted. And what remedial actions has the BN government taken to address the dirty elections?
BERSIH 2.0 will stay focused on our mission and continue pressuring for electoral reform to ensure that the government in power is there solely at the behest of the people through clean and fair elections.
Link
Dear all who are concerned about the PKR elections and think #BERSIH 2.0 should look into them,
Thank you for your alerts. This is a good opportunity for BERSIH 2.0 to clarify and remind everyone what we are about, why, and how far still we have to go to attain our goals.
BERSIH 2.0 was set up to enhance democracy in the country by advocating for integrity in the process and system of electing the government and holding the ruling government to account for that.
Hence, our mandate is to the federal & state elections (local elections would count too, if they came back) wherein people's representatives are elected to public office via public funds.
With regard to the PKR elections, or any party and even NGO elections, it is an internal matter that must be addressed by the body's direct stakeholders - i.e. the members themselves.
BERSIH 2.0 is not an overseer for all manner of elections - only those that affect the general public in terms of representation in government. Our mission is to ensure that this dictum is met: *The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of the government.*
So, just as citizens - as 'members' of their country - have to hold their governments accountable, party members too must hold their leadership accountable.
As dismal as the conduct of the PKR elections was, the many wrongdoings were exposed by members and leaders - and the party leadership did not censor the complaints. Now the party will have to take remedial steps to regain the trust of not just members but even supporters, and spell out convincing measures to ensure the integrity of the party elections and results.
This is what the BN government should have done following the 13th general election last year, but did not. Till this day, the prime minister has ignored BERSIH 2.0's request for a dialogue on electoral reform. BERSIH 2.0 has had to organise a massive citizens' initiative to monitor the polls with KOMAS and MAFREL and even seek an international, independent panel's verdict via a historic People's Tribunal - all of which documented evidence that showed the people's will had been subverted. And what remedial actions has the BN government taken to address the dirty elections?
BERSIH 2.0 will stay focused on our mission and continue pressuring for electoral reform to ensure that the government in power is there solely at the behest of the people through clean and fair elections.
No comments:
Post a Comment