EC chief doubts Undi 18, auto registration will be ready for S'wak polls
Azhar Azizan Harun today expressed his doubt that automatic voter registration will be ready in time for the Sarawak election, which must be held by June 2021.
The Election Commission chief was similarly sceptical when asked if the state polls would see 18-year-olds vote for the first time...
Azhar Azizan Harun today expressed his doubt that automatic voter registration will be ready in time for the Sarawak election, which must be held by June 2021.
The Election Commission chief was similarly sceptical when asked if the state polls would see 18-year-olds vote for the first time.
“I doubt it, but let us first sit down and see what the (implementation) process and what the timeline is.
"Then we will see if it is probable or not,” he said during a press conference in Putrajaya.
On Tuesday, the Dewan Rakyat passed a constitutional amendment to lower the qualifying age for both voting and running for office, as well as to introduce automatic voter registration.
Azhar estimated that implementing these changes would take 18 months, but was unwilling to commit to a date, stating that multiple procedures need to take place.
“The EC needs to prepare for a new system for automatic voter registration.
"As I have said previously, we will need data from at least three federal agencies –the National Registration Department, the Prisons Department and the Health Ministry.
“We will need to work with them to synchronise their data into our system, but we will first need to create that system. This will take time," he said.
The EC, Azhar added, has to clean up the electoral roll, and has set up a committee that effect.
He also said the commission plans to hold a “massive drive” to encourage Malaysians to update their voting information, especially their addresses.
The EC launched the MySPR Daftar website today which enables Malaysians to register as voters online, and for existing electors to update their personal details.
Azhar promised, however, that the commission would not rush the process, and will hold frequent bipartisan consultations before implementing automatic voter registration and the new voting age.
“Rest assured, we will do it properly,” he said.
Higher costs
Azhar, who took over the once-embattled commission last September, estimated that all the new changes will come at a cost.
In the 14th general election, he said, the EC had spent RM500 million to manage 14.9 million voters and 240,000 officials on the ground.
“This does not include spending by the police and the security forces.
"And this was without any of the improvements we have implemented since - no wheelchairs, ramps, buggies or air-conditioned tents.
“If we transpose all these improvements to the 15th general election, and if we take into account the 22.5 million estimated voters, we can make a rough calculation of how much we will need,” he said.
The EC chief declining to offer a figure, only saying that “it will be at a substantially higher cost."
He had been asked to comment on a suggestion from PAS lawmaker Takiyuddin Hassan at an earlier forum that the EC be given an RM1 billion budget to set up an office in every district nationwide.
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