Malaysians4Change Road Map Part 4: Item 2.2 Candidate Selection Criteria (CSC)
Anwar claimed that the problem was due to difficulty in getting suitable candidates for PKR. To avoid a repeat of such problems for the coming General Elections (GE 13), we propose that civil society should look for qualified candidates to complement Pakatan Rakyat’s selection process and offer them to Pakatan, together with an election team made up of volunteers to complement existing party machinery. These candidates will stand under the Pakatan platform, undertake to support Pakatan in Parliament and abide by Pakatan’s code of conduct.
By pywong
On 8th Mar 2008, millions of Malaysians placed their faith in Anwar Ibrahim, PKR, PAS and DAP. Unfortunately, the people felt let down when a few Pakatan Rakyat ADUNs Perak crossed over to BN, triggering a fall of the Pakatan state government and the takeover by BN.
The disappointment got deeper when 5 MPs quit PKR, reducing their representation from 30 to 25. A 17% reduction in the number of MPs for PKR indicated serious problems in the candidate selection process. Anwar claimed that the problem was due to difficulty in getting suitable candidates for PKR. To avoid a repeat of such problems for the coming General Elections (GE 13), we propose that civil society should look for qualified candidates to complement Pakatan Rakyat’s selection process and offer them to Pakatan, together with an election team made up of volunteers to complement existing party machinery. These candidates will stand under the Pakatan platform, undertake to support Pakatan in Parliament and abide by Pakatan’s code of conduct.
Below is an overview of the CSC process. It has been developed after extensive consultations with civil society in tindakmalaysia.com and private communications with overseas election campaign specialists.
Reference has also been made to two manuals produced by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) – (a) Political Campaign Manual and (b) Political Parties and Democracy in Theoretical and Practical Perspectives: Selecting Candidates for Legislative Office by Sefakor Ashiagbor.
It is by no means complete and feedback will be welcome.
