The Election Commission's (EC) Penang branch today announced that the number of registered voters in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency stood at 61,266 as of March this year.

Its director, Morat Pora, said the voter-base in the constituency saw an increase of 2,817 voters compared with the number recorded during the 2008 general election (GE).

"In between, the EC had also removed 1,271 names from the electoral roll, comprising those who had died, lost their citizenship or had entered or retired from the armed forces and the police," he said in a statement here today.

He was commenting a statement issued by Permatang Pauh Umno which alleged that the polling centres for over 5,000 BN supporters registered as voters in the constituency had been changed without their knowledge.

Morat said the voters affected in polling centre changes only numbered 360.

"These people requested to change their polling centre from Permatang Pauh to other constituencies nationwide due to changes in their residential addresses," he said.

EC willing to investigate

Nevertheless, Morat said the EC was willing to investigate complaints from any quarter who could provide detailed information on polling centres being changed without the consent of the voters concerned.

Last Tuesday, Permatang Pauh Umno chief Abdul Jalil Abdul Majid was reported as saying that the change of polling centres for the voters was first discovered two weeks ago when several registered voters in the Seberang Jaya state constituency checked the electoral roll.

Abdul Jalil also alleged that there was a possibility that the polling centre change was done by certain quarters and assisted by an 'insider' to ensure that the Permatang Pauh seat remained with the opposition.

- Bernama