A sealed plastic envelope containing 17 unopened postal ballots, found in a trash can in a village in Sabak Bernam , has convinced Parti Keadilan Nasional (Keadilan) that it has a case to call for fresh elections in that parliamentary seat and the two state seats under it.

Supreme council member Dr Badrulamin Bahron, a losing candidate for the parliamentary seat, told a press conference in Shah Alam today that the package was found together with several Election Commission (EC) documents.

The main documents were a letter signed by EC secretary Wan Ahmad Wan Omar certifying the number of postal ballots for the constituency, and the list naming the 17 voters.

A cleaner found the items in a trash can by the roadside in Kampung Tebuk Pulai on March 23 and handed them to a Keadilan supporter - a government servant who has requested anonymity - on March 27, said Badrulamin.

"This reinforces our claims that the general election held on March 21 was tainted with irregularities and fraud. The EC must take responsible for the incident," he said, showing the ballots to journalists at the party headquarters.

"If this can happen in Sabak Bernam and involve 17 postal ballots, it can also happen elsewhere and involve 170 or 1,700 ballot papers... who knows, with the loopholes in the regulations and inefficiency of the EC? But we cannot allow this to continue."

He said he would lodge a report with the EC's Shah Alam office on Monday before making a police report, explaining that he had also been consulting with his lawyers over the procedure over the past few days.

Badrulamin said the polls results for the Sabak Bernam parliamentary seat and the two state seats under it - Sungai Air Tawar and Sabak - should be nullified and a fresh election stayed until an independent investigations can be carried out.

All the three seats were won by candidates from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. PAS candidates contested for the two state seats.

When journalists pointed out that 16 of the 17 postal ballots were marked in favour of BN candidate, Badrulamin said this did not mean that the voice of voters does not matter.

"I don't care who the culprit is... orang dacing atau orang bulan (BN supporters or PAS supporters). I have to expose this because this is not right and EC is answerable," he said.

"I am not upset because I lost. Neither am I upset because I was cheated. But I am saddened that so many people were cheated by fraudulent administration that asks questions of the EC's credibility."

Secrecy 'compromised'

Badrulamin also pointed out that the voter's registration number was handwritten on each postal ballot envelope, thereby indicating that the right to secrecy has been compromised.

"If the numbers are cross-checked against the voters' list, one can easily trace who voted for which party. This is among the many complaints we have referred to the EC in the past," he said..

He also said today's revelation was only the tip of the iceberg on "election irregularities" involving Sabak Bernam.

"We are in the midst of checking the electoral roll for the constituency. To date, we have found that thousands of names had been removed from the roll at the last minute. We have also received a complaint that a fifth former was allowed to vote," he said.

He said the fifth former had boasted to his schoolmates that he had voted using someone else's identity card, but also stressed that the matter was still being investigated.

Badrulamin said he would not be surprised if his quest for an independent probe is rejected, considering that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has already dismissed the need for one in relation to the opposition's complaints about election irregularities.

"We were informed that the prime minister has instructed the EC not to agree to any request for an independent probe, but we will not quit," he said.

"We will continue to object and press the authorities for independent investigations. It is important that the rakyat knows about such irregularities because this involves their constitutional rights."

Asked what the opposition parties would do if the government does not respond, Badrulamin said an election petition may be filed among other judicial measures.

If the EC is unable to provide a clean electoral roll in the next election, he added, the opposition may also consider boycotting the polls.

The EC has, since March 21, come under immense pressure to explain the unprecedented glitches in the conduct of the 11th general election. It is carrying out an internal audit based on the complaints received.