Electoral reform coalition Bersih has called upon all Malaysians to take part in the Election Commission's ongoing constituency redelineation exercise for peninsular Malaysia, starting tomorrow (Sept 15) until Oct 14.

Bersih steering committee member Jay Jay Denis said this is because the exercise may influence outcomes of up to three general elections and all state elections with the exception of Sarawak.

"Bersih warns Malaysians that EC's recommendations - once presented to the Parliament at the end of the (redelineation) process - will be voted upon with a simple majority by the Dewan Rakyat.

"This means that what appears in the EC's final report are expected to be passed," he said during a press conference at a hotel in Petaling Jaya.

In order to participate in the exercise, Denis (photo) said all Malaysians should start by assessing its impact on their individual constituency, in order to see if their representation is negatively affected.

In the event of any discrepancies, he said an objection should be filed by Oct 14 with the signatures of at least 100 others, or voters could also file legal suits against the EC.

Denis said Bersih remains committed to fight malapportionment and gerrymandering by assisting voters throughout the objection process which will be based on the EC's display of voters' new details.

He also cautioned the EC that it has no powers to exclude constituencies that would benefit from the redelineation exercise to correct existing malapportionment and gerrymandering.

"It cannot repeat its unscrupulous conduct in Sarawak where 38 out of the original 71 state constituencies were excluded from redelineation," he said.

EC secretary Abdul Ghani Salleh yesterday said that the number of parliamentary and state assembly seats in the peninsula will stay the same after the redelineation exercise.

However, the number of state assembly constituencies in Sabah will increase from the current 60 to a total number of 73 seats.