Pakatan Rakyat leaders are questioning the independence of the Election Commission after it chose to hold two by-elections immediately after Umno completes its party elections.

It was announced today that the by-elections for the Bukit Selembau state seat in Kedah and the Bukit Gantang parliament seat in Perak would be held simultaneously on April 7, with nominations on March 29 - a day after the Umno general assembly is completed.

"It confirms that the EC is working to the tune of Barisan Nasional," said Perak PAS deputy commissioner and elections director Asmuni Awi when contacted.

Elaborating, Asmuni said that the EC had intentionally chosen dates which were designed to give Umno breathing room in view of its party polls, which are scheduled to take place from Feb 24 to 28.

He said judging from the Kuala Terengganu by-election last month, Umno's election machinery has been hampered by leaders' preoccupation with the party polls.

saifuddin nasution Similarly, PKR chief strategist Saifuddin Nasution criticised the EC for factoring in the Umno polls when the commission had called for by-elections which clashed with PAS' annual assemblies last year (Permatang Pauh) and in 2004 (Kuala Berang).

"It is just too good to be mere coincidence for the EC to fix a date after Umno elections," said Saifuddin, adding that Umno would be in disarray in the run up to the polls because of the heated contest.

'Working day chosen because PR is incumbent'

On the polling day, which falls on a Tuesday, both Asmuni and Saifuddin said it was a calculated move to reduce the amount of young and outstation voters.

"Why not on a weekend? Is it because they want outstation non-Malay voters not to come back on that day? They know that non-Malay voters would not give their votes to BN," said Asmuni.

bukit selambau bukit gantang by election Saifuddin added that a disturbing pattern was emerging on how the EC decides on a polling date.

"Wherever Pakatan is the incumbent, EC will choose a working day which will pose problems for the voters. In the case of Permatang Pauh, Penang was forced to declare a public holiday. Such problems can be avoided if a proper date is chosen," he said.

"Choosing a working day for a by-election shows that the EC is not committed to providing the conditions for mass participation in the polls," he added.

The Bukit Selembau seat fell vacant after PKR's V Arumugam resigned on Feb 9 while the Bukit Gantang seat fell vacant after PAS' Roslan Shaharom passed away on the same day.

'Craven subservience'

Meanwhile, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang described the late poll dates as a demonstration of the EC's "craven subservience" to Umno and urged the commission to reconsider the poll dates.

"Clearly, the fractious and internecine Umno party elections until March 28 had been the primary consideration of the EC when deciding on the two by-election dates," said Lim in a statement.

lim kit siang 201108 He said that an independent EC would not take such matters into account when fixing election dates and the commission has reinforced public perception that it was an "Umno creature at the beck-and-call of the top party leadership".

Lim claimed that the EC had made history by holding an election at the tail-end of the 60 day constitutional limit.

He said the Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau by-elections would only be held on the 57 th day from the date of vacancy as compared to the 27 th day for Permatang Pauh and 51 st day for Kuala Terengganu by-elections.

Bukit Gantang is a former Umno stronghold which fell to PAS for the first time in last year's general elections. The by-election is considered highly significant as it is being treated as a referendum on the controversial BN takeover of Perak last week.

Meanwhile, a BN win in Bukit Selambau would be an important step in the coalition's bid to take over the Pakatan Rakyat-held Kedah.