Extend GE15 campaigning period to 21 days, KLSCAH urges EC

The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) has proposed for the Election Commission (EC) to extend the campaigning period for the 15th general election (GE15) to three weeks.

This will allow all political parties to have more time to choose the best candidate and prepare for the polls, the group said, while local and overseas voters can exercise their right to vote in time.

KLSCAH also put forward three suggestions that can be implemented with a three-week campaign, starting with fine-tuning the overseas voting process.

"(With the extension) overseas voters will have more time to mail their ballots back to Malaysia and avoid losing their right to vote due to delays in ballot dispatching.

"In addition, the EC should consider the possibility of allowing eligible overseas voters to download their ballots from the commission's official website digitally, to simplify the application procedure for overseas postal votes, and to save unnecessary election expenses incurred in the printing of postal ballots," it said in a statement today.

The group pointed out that the implementation of Undi18 and automatic voter registration is also set to significantly increase the number of eligible voters.

"With the number of voters increasing from the recorded 15.8 million to 21.1 million, the government will face a significant surge in voters. According to statistics, the number of new voters is expected to increase by an average of 10,000 to 50,000 voters (across the 222 Parliament seats in more than 190 constituencies).

"Therefore, extending the campaigning period will help the EC prepare for the voter turnout surge. At the same time, sufficient on-duty staff and police presence could ensure the election is conducted more efficiently," it added.

Set up dedicated polling stations

The group’s third proposal is adopting dedicated polling stations for outstation voters.

Citing the estimated 500,000 Sarawakians and Sabahans working or studying in West Malaysia as an example, KLSCAH explained that in addition to existing mail-in ballots, the EC must also set up special polling centres in each constituency to process the ballots of outstation voters.

"That way, even if the upcoming election is held on different dates, outstation voters can cast their votes at their nearest polling station. Outstation voters can finally be able to vote for their beloved hometown's representative, minus the hassle to 'balik kampung' (return to their hometown) out of their own pockets."

The group called on the EC to adopt more convenient and timely voting processes to help voters exercise their right to vote.

"The unforgiving political terrain has caused countless disappointments and political apathy in our citizens.

"On the flip side, we can benefit by making use of each precious vote, to determine the future of Malaysia and its development of political democratisation," it added.

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