Report of the People's Tribunal on Malaysia's
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Report of The REPORT OF People’s Tribunal on Malaysia’s on Malaysia’s Tribunal People’s The People’s Tribunal ON MALAYSIA’S 13th General Elections REPORT OF The People’s Tribunal ON MALAYSIA’S 13 th th 13 General Elections General Elections 25 March 2014 Publisher: Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER) 13, Lorong 4/48E, Section 4, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA In collaboration with: BERSIH 2.0 Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections 13, Lorong 4/48E, Section 4, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA. Cover: Elan Hashim Layout design: Ora Tan Printer: Vinlin Press Report of the People’s Tribunal on Malaysia’s 13th General Elections August 2014 Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike 3.0 Unreported Licence. ISBN: 978-967-10836-4-2 People’s Tribunal on GE13 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ vii Members of the Tribunal ...................................................................................................................viii Terms of Reference ............................................................................................................................... x Picture Gallery of Proceedings .......................................................................................................... xii REPORT OF THE PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON MALAYSIA’S 13TH GENERAL ELECTIONS Chapter 1: Background to the People’s Tribunal on GE13 ........................................................... 1 Nature of the Tribunal Members of the Tribunal Mandate of the Tribunal Proceedings of the Tribunal Chapter 2: Elections, Electoral Systems and Electoral Governance............................................. 5 The purpose of elections Ensuring a representative parliament Making elections accessible and meaningful Facilitating the setting up of a government—and one that is stable and efficient Providing incentives for conciliation and collaboration Encouraging political parties Holding the government and law-makers accountable Promoting a parliamentary opposition Norms and standards for fair and free elections International law and “soft law” Guidelines, standards etc. The people: OPOVOV (One person, one vote, one value) The choice Representatives Supporting mechanisms and procedures Chapter 3: GE13 .............................................................................................................................. 15 Past elections The constitutional and legal framework The 2013 Elections The evidence before the Tribunal .................................................................................................. 19 The right to vote ......................................................................................................................... 19 Findings and Observations on right to vote The integrity of the Register of Electors .................................................................................... 20 Comprehensiveness Non-citizens registered Not registered in the right constituency Registered though not apparently having applied Removed from the roll Findings and Observations on the Electoral Roll Are those registered able to vote? .............................................................................................. 24 Availability i People’s Tribunal on GE13 Table of Contents Ensuring that those not entitled to vote do not do so ................................................................. 24 Failure to produce proper identification Non-indelible ink Advance and postal voting Findings and Observations on whether only those entitled to vote were able to vote and not others The principle of OPOVOV ......................................................................................................... 28 Findings and Observations on boundary drawing How far is the ballot genuinely secret? ...................................................................................... 31 Freedom to organise and campaign ............................................................................................ 32 Organising Are candidates and parties able to campaign freely? Findings and Observations on freedom to organise and campaign Does voting itself take place in an atmosphere where the voters can feel free to exercise their choice? ................................................................................................................. 34 Manipulation of ethnic identities and creation of ethnic hostility Unfair campaigning Restrictions on campaigning around election day Findings and Observations on the free atmosphere for voting The voters’ free choice unaffected by promises and threat of personal benefit or loss .............. 36 Findings and Observations on bribery and related matters Is there a “level playing field”, in the sense that as far as possible “government” candidates and others compete equally without the former having unfair advantages? ............ 38 A caretaker government? Promises—and threats Use of public resources Findings and Observations on the issue of level playing field Money politics and campaign expenditure ................................................................................. 40 Findings and Observations on campaign expenditure Is there a level playing field in terms of access to the media? ................................................... 41 Findings and Observations on the media Safe custody of electoral materials and reliable counting procedures ....................................... 43 Rejecting votes The adding process Openness Findings and Observations on counting-related matters Is there reason to believe the issues identified affected the results?........................................... 46 Supporting mechanisms and procedures ....................................................................................... 47 Independence of the Electoral Commission ............................................................................... 47 Formal structures etc. of the EC Members and staff Modes of operation Findings and Observations on the Electoral Commission Role of the police and public servants ........................................................................................ 49 Findings and Observations on police and administrators Independent observers of the process ......................................................................................... 50 Findings and Observations on election observers ii People’s Tribunal on GE13 Table of Contents Dealing with election disputes ................................................................................................... 52 Challenge to the Electoral Roll Election petitions GE13 Petitions Findings and Observations on dispute resolution through the Courts Findings ............................................................................................................................................. 58 The right to vote Registration Voting Boundaries Organising and campaigning Bribery, treating and undue influence Skewed playing field Control of campaigning expenses Role of Media After the voting: counting etc. Transparency Electoral Commission Police and administrators Observers Disputes The Tribunal’s Verdict ..................................................................................................................... 62 Compliance with law The rule of law and international standards Specific shortcomings of the EC Impact on outcome Impact on legitimacy Chapter 4: Recommendations......................................................................................................... 67 Introduction The Constitution The Electoral Commission Boundaries The Register of Electors Political parties Other changes in the law Other necessary measures Reviewing the electoral system Final thoughts Picture Gallery of Delivery of Findings ............................................................................................ 76 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. 78 iii People’s Tribunal on GE13 List of Abbreviations LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BN Barisan Nasional CPPS Centre for Public Policy Studies DAP Democratic Action Party DBKL Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (KL City Council) EC Election Commission EMB Electoral Management Body GE13 Malaysia’s 13th General Elections IDEAS Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs JKKK Jawatankuasa Kemajuan & Keselamatan Kampung (Village Development and Security Committee) KTM Ketua Tempat Mengundi (Head of Pollling Station) PACA Polling Agent and Counting Agent PAS Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (Pan-Islamic Party of Malaysia) PKR Parti Keadilan Rakyat PR Pakatan Rakyat SD Statutory Declaration UMNO United Malays National Organisation iv The people must also take responsibility for the integrity and reform of the electoral system. The initiative of Malaysian NGOs to set up and support BERSIH 2.0 is an important step; it is full of promise if the momentum that led to protests, research, and investigations—and to this Tribunal—following the GE13 is reinforced through nationwide discussion and debates on reform, and then pressure on the government and political parties to adopt the reforms. People’s