GE14 | Caretaker deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has urged all quarters not to defame the Election Commission (EC) and the police in the discharge of their duties.
He said there was no basis to the allegation by G Manivannan, the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Hutan Melintang state seat, that the ballots of early voting in the Bagan Datuk parliamentary constituency had been counted.
“Do not make the false accusation that the ballot boxes had been opened. The police and EC know that the boxes cannot be opened. They can only be opened on polling day on May 9.
“He (Manivannan) had raised the matter intentionally to garner sympathy,” he said at a press conference after launching a programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sg Nipah in Bagan Datuk today.
Zahid also hit out at Manivannan for saying that he was accorded a grand welcome when his car entered the police station.
“He alleged that I had instructed for such a greeting. I was not at all at the police station as alleged. I was elsewhere. Do not make allegations. We will wait for the investigation,” he said.
Zahid also warned Manivannan not to attempt to disunite the people of Bagan Datuk by making slanderous allegations.
“I wish to tell Manivannan that the constituents of Kapar had rejected him and his own party did not want him to contest any seat in Selangor and sent him to Hutan Melintang,” he said.
He also said that those who wanted to campaign in Bagan Datuk should respect the culture and ethics practised in the constituency.
“The people of Bagan Datuk will reject those who make slanderous allegations like this.
“I hope this matter will not be repeated. I will forgive him (Manivannan) (photo) this time, it being the first. Do not make slanderous accusations. The BN candidates in Rungkup, Hutan Melintang and Bagan Datuk have never condemned other parties or individuals,” he said.
EC denies early counting
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the EC also dismissed the allegation that ballots collected in Bagan Datuk were counted after the completion of early-voting nationwide, last Saturday.
EC chairperson Mohd Hashim Abdullah (photo) said ballots collected during early-voting would only be counted from 4pm on polling day on May 9 at the early-voting counting centres stipulated by the EC.
“Before counting begins, the EC will officially notify all the relevant quarters, particularly the candidates, to be present to witness the counting process,” he said in a statement.
He said an EC investigation showed that all the election staff had adhered to the stipulated procedures for early-voting in Bagan Datuk.
Once early-voting concluded at 5pm, the EC staff sealed all the ballot boxes in front of the agents of the candidates and took the boxes for safekeeping at the Hutan Melintang Police Station,” he said.
Hashim said that while storing the ballot boxes, a group of people, including a candidate, questioned the process of safekeeping, alleging irregularities by the EC staff.
The EC felt that the disturbance was created on purpose to cause a stir among the people with the aim of getting the attention of the voters, he said.
Hashim said that for the record, the number of early voters at the Hutan Melintang military camp was 1,541 but 508 voters chose to be postal voters.
He said that of the 1,033 early voters eligible to vote last Saturday, only 825 turned up.
-- Bernama
