PKR is crying foul over the alleged withholding of polling centre tally sheets, known as Borang 14, which could open the way for manipulating election results.

Party deputy president Azmin Ali said that the due process was not fulfilled based on feedback from the party's counting agents in constituencies statewide.

He explained that election rules stipulate that the document must be signed by Election Commission officials and candidate's agents before the ballot box leaves the polling centre.

According to Regulation 25 (12) (b) ii of the Elections (conduct of elections) Regulations 1981, returning officers must give a copy of the Form 14 to all counting agents.

"The counting will be witnessed by our agents. Once satisfied, EC and agents must sign the Borang 14 before the boxes are moved to ensure integrity of the polls.

"Once they hold back the document, they can always change the numbers on the forms," Azmin  ( right ) told reporters at the PKR media centre in Jalan Satok, Kuching.

Numerous rural polling centres closed far earlier than the 5pm deadline for logistical reasons and PKR scrutineers have been relaying the vote count back to their Kuching headquarters.

Good news turns bad

Azmin claims that the authorities had instructed returning officers to withhold the documents after realising that PKR had done well in numerous rural constituencies.

The Gombak MP said that they began to hear of the EC staff' members' refusal to surrender Form 14 to their agents in N14 Asajaya and N18 Tedelu and now it is starting to spread to other areas.

"It is as if there is a general order (for this)."

He claims that the BN had seen that the PKR had garnered strong results from interior areas such as Krian, Kakus and even Layar and fears that the support in the urban areas is expected to be better.

"Now our agents have no access to the official tally sheets," he said.

Suspicious of the EC that it views as being unfair and pro-government, Pakatan has long viewed that ballot boxes may be tampered with in transit and forged Form 14 be issued to substantiate the 'new' results.

Now the outbreak of denials of Form 14 copies to PKR counting agents by EC returning officers in the current polls may have rekindled such fears.

He claims that repeated calls to Sarawak EC chief Takun Sunggah to complain about the situation went unanswered.

Azmin said that the state EC chief has thus far remained incommunicado despite having tried for hours to contact him.

"I am disappointed that all the phone lines of the state EC chief remain unanswered, despite him promising to me during my visit to him before nominations, that I can call him for assistance," added the PKR leader.