COMMENT | As polling day draws near, the anti-democratic actions of Umno-BN grow like a darkening shadow across the landscape. The bigger the crowds at opposition rallies, particularly in the rural heartland, the more desperate they seem to become. They can see the writing on the wall, they can hear the rising clamour for change and they know the tide is turning against them.

Having lost popular support in the last election, they now intend to thwart the will of the people in this election. All pretence of fair play and even-handedness is gone. They are determined to hold on to power at any cost by using the Election Commission (EC) and other agencies to advance their agenda.

Over and over again, the EC has acted in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner hampering the opposition at every turn, hindering voter participation and manipulating the electoral process to favour Umno-BN.

By now, we are all familiar with the