The Selangor government today filed a judicial review application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, to stop the present redelineation exercise.

It wants the court to declare as null and void the Election Commission's Sept 15 redelineation notice, its recommendations, the electoral rolls used in the redelineation exercise and the draft constituency plan for Selangor.

The state government also wants to compel the EC to publish a new notice with new recommendations that “truly” follow the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

In its application, the Selangor government described the present exercise as unconstitutional and inconsistent with Article 113(2) and Sections 2(c) and 2(d) of the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

Section 2(c) states that the number of electors (or voters) within each constituency in the state should be approximately equal, with the exception of certain circumstances.

Section 2(d) states that inconveniences with regard to the alterations of constituences, and the maintenance of local ties, should be taken into account.

The state government said the excercise is also inconsistent with Section 3 of the Thirteenth Schedule, as it does not take into account the current electoral roll in the redelineation exercise.

The Selangor government is also seeking a declaration that the EC notice published under Section 4 of the Schedule, lacked detailed particulars.

It named the EC, its chairperson Mohd Hashim Abdullah and secretary Abdul Ghani Salleh as the respondents.

The application was made by the law firm of Daim & Gamany.

Drastic changes favouring one party

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali affirmed a 58-page affidavit in support of the judicial review application.

Azmin in his detailed affidavit said boundaries to 18 parliamentary constituencies had been changed.

He said there was public outcry about the notice and proposed recommendations, which he claimed included “drastic changes which appeared to favour one particular party especially in Selangor”.

Political parties have generally opposed the redelineation exercise, including MCA and Gerakan, said the Selangor MB in his affidavit.

He also cited The Star editor-in chief's opinion piece that claimed the exercise may damage race relations beyond repair.

Several academic institutions, Azmin said, claimed the exercise would further polarise race relations.

Pakatan Harapan also alleged gerrymandering was involved, and as a result the exercise was unconstitutional.

“As MB, I am deeply concerned about how Selangor would be deeply affected by the delimitation exercise, and in an exco meeting held on Sept 20, this year, it noticed that the recommendations deviated substantially from the Thirteenth Schedule.”

Azmin further submitted two reports – one by political analyst Dr Wong Chin Huat and also pollster Merdeka center – that found the EC had acted contrary to the law.

The two reports claimed the EC acted unconstitutionally by not following Sections 2(c) and Sections 2(d) of the Thirteenth Schedule, and this was evidence of malapportionment and gerrymandering.

Azmin further claimed that the present electoral roll is defective as there are 136,272 voters who do not have their corresponding addresses entered on the roll.

The Selangor MB wanted the EC to produce a digital map, show the relevant electoral roll used in the 2016 delimitation exercise, produce maps of all polling districts, and provide topographical information of the parliamentary and state constituencies as well as information on the land mass of the area.

Azmin further said the EC also seemed to violate international standards on ensuring free and fair elections, as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Inter-Parliamentary Union Declaration on the Criteria for a Free and Fair Elections.