SHAH ALAM, 27 Feb: Bersih 2.0 is urging the Election Commission (EC) to consult with political parties and non-governmental organisations (NGO) before deciding on the proposed delineation of constituency boundaries.
Its Chairperson, Maria Chin Abdullah, said that the EC should hold talks with Bersih 2.0, which previously proposed an electoral reform, including the proposed border delineation.
She said that the EC should also provide relevant grounds if there is an increase in constituencies in the proposal which will be presented to Parliament in March.
“The delineation of constituency boundaries will determine the outcome of the 14th General Election.
“Prior experience shows that the border delineation will benefit the ruling party if the people are not concerned about his delineation process.
“Although 62 percent of the people voted for change, no change took place,” she said in a statement.
Recently, she attended a delineation awareness campaign at Avenue 4, Muar, Johor, to urge the people of Muar to take part in the constituencies’ delineation process which will be implemented this year.
In the same statement, the Member of Parliament for Bakri, Er Teck Hwa, reportedly said that the EC should standardise its internal management before implementing any delineation of boundaries.
He said that since 2009, the Muar DAP conducted surveys on the structure of voters and boundaries by using Google maps and maps from the National Department of Survey and Mapping, and comparing it with the EC area map.
“As a result, the team found that the EC map contained many errors in area names and boundaries were also unclear.
“We have also received complaints that family members residing at the same address were allocated different polling stations, and when asked, the EC officer said that the delineation of boundaries are according to their experience only,” he said.
