DAP has criticised the Election Commission (EC) for refusing to allow political parties to register new voters despite the commission’s slow progress in doing so on its own.

Balakong state assemblyperson Ng Tien Chee ( photo ) said there are some 2.6 million eligible voters who are yet to be registered.

"Citizens who want to register as voters are facing difficulties as their channels for registration are limited.

"Prior to this, those who wish to register as voters can do so through registration exercises by political parties.

"However, since EC revoked the assistant registrar positions from political parties, they (qualified voters) can only register at post offices or outreach programmes by the EC," he said in a statement today.

Ng said the EC should restore the political parties' authority to register voters as it will be more convenient for eligible voters.

In the run up to the 2013 general election, political parties particularly the opposition aggressively registered voters in a bid to strengthen their voter base.

However, the EC refused to renew the tenure of assistant registrar for political parties and NGOs after the general election.

The last polls saw the ruling party win by a narrow majority and garnering less than 50 percent of the popular vote.

In April electoral reform group Bersih slammed the EC for allowing the Department of Special Affairs (Jasa) personnel whom they alleged had links to BN to register voters.

In January Bernama also reported Umno “is now actively carrying out the process of registering those who are eligible to vote in the coming general election” citing party vice-president Mohd Shafie Apdal.

“We are in the process of empowering the party by registering Umno members as voters according to the existing regulations,” the national news agency reported him saying on Jan 17.

He said Umno was also in the process of "legalising" 200,000 Umno members who were eligible to vote in the coming general election.