RM123.7m spent to run last year’s polls

(NST) A TOTAL of RM123.7 million was spent by the Election Commission to conduct last year's general election, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, who disclosed this, said RM409,000 was spent on the Permatang Pauh by-election and RM580,000 on the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

Nazri, replying to a question from Azan Ismail (PKR-Indera Mahkota), said under the Elections Act, candidates are prohibited from spending more than RM200,000.

"We can only audit the amount spent by a candidate as a preventive measure to prevent unlimited spending. However, we cannot stop his friends from doing so if they wanted to," he said.

To a supplementary question from Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) who commented that there was a tendency for elected representatives, especially those from the opposition, to resign and force a by-election, Nazri said existing regulations were in place to deal with such a scenario.

He said elected representatives who force a by-election will be barred from contesting for five years.

Additionally, those who had completed their third year in office cannot force a by-election as they have served more than half their tenure.

"I hope there will not be any more by-elections unless this is caused by the death of an elected representative," he said.

Later, speaking to reporters in the parliament lobby, Nazri said the figures he had provided was for expenditure by the Election Commission.

"They do not include the police expenditure during the last general election," he said.

Last week, Nazri had told the house the police had spent RM15.1 million to provide security for the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

He said no candidate in the general election had been hauled up by the Election Commission for excessive spending.