Do you think Bersih is independent, asks EC chief
The Election Commission is willing to cooperate with election reform movement Bersih in the coming Sarawak state election on the condition the coalition is independent, EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said today.
"It must be independent. We don't want observers who are not independent," Aziz said at EC's 58th anniversary ceremony.
The Election Commission is willing to cooperate with election reform movement Bersih in the coming Sarawak state election on the condition the coalition is independent, EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said today.
"It must be independent. We don't want observers who are not independent," Aziz said at EC's 58th anniversary ceremony at its premises in Putrajaya.
Yesterday, Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem said he was prepared to work with Bersih and other NGOs in the coming state election.
EC has refused to officially recognise Bersih as an observer in previous general elections.
"Can you say Bersih independent? Do you think Bersih is independent?" Aziz asked, repeatedly.
However, he refused to answer himself if the electoral reform group was independent.
"I don't want to say this. Just think for yourself how they behave and their statements," he said.
"We don't understand what is so dirty about us. What is so unclean about us, tell us. This is just perception.
"We clean ourselves on a daily basis. But is Bersih ( photo ) clean?” Aziz asked.
The electoral watchdog took to the streets on Aug 29 and 30 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak over the 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion donation that went into his personal bank accounts.
Why EC cannot improve electoral system
The movement also demanded for sweeping electoral reforms in the country.
"The difference (from previous Bersih rallies) was that my portrait was stomped on the last time, now it was the portraits of others," Aziz quipped.
He blamed the political scenario in the country for EC's difficulty in improving the electoral system through the legislature.
This, he claimed, was because the government needed a two-thirds majority in Parliament to amend the Federal Constitution before any policy betterment could be implemented.
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