The proposal to expand early voting to include nurses, doctors and journalists cannot yet be implemented.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong said the proposal made by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) for electoral reforms would require a thorough study first by the Election Commission (EC) and several factors to be considered.

“The EC needs to study the impact of the proposed implementation, taking into consideration the EC’s capacity in terms of its existing manpower strength and organisational factors,” he said in reply to a question from Senator Muhamad Yusof Husin in the Dewan Negara in Kuala Lumpur today.

The PSC in its preliminary report tabled and passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 1, had proposed that nurses, doctors and journalists be given the chance to vote early but not through postal voting.

This was among 10 proposals made by the PSC after hearing the views of various quarters including non-governmental organisations and individuals as well as feedback received by the PSC members.

Besides early voting, the other proposals include the use of indelible ink on voters in the coming 13th general election, voting for registered voters who are staying abroad and change of registration areas.

The PSC had also proposed the cleaning-up of the electoral roll, display of the list of additional voters, transparency of the voting process, improvement of the nomination process and strengthening of the EC.

- Bernama