Which way for Malaysia after election petition?
It is too early to talk about the outcome of the lawsuits and what I am concerned about is, would the defeated party helplessly accept the court’s decision like Gore or launch a new round of battle, after the court’s decision is announced?
Lim Mun Fah, Sin Chew Daily
The goal of national reconciliation seems still very far away. The Election Commission has so far received 60 election appeals, with some of them having their trial dates set.
It is the people’s right under the law to challenge election results. Voters or candidates have the right to file election appeals as long as there is sufficient evidence.
According to constitutional experts, however, challenging election results in court is not easy. The judicial procedures are complicated and time-consuming. Most appeals might not be able to enter the trial phase due to technical problems.
The current political impasse in the country reminds me of the US presidential election in 2000.
The contest was between Republican candidate George W. Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore, the incumbent vice-president.
A controversy broke out over the awarding of the state of Florida and the 25 electoral votes that came with it. Since the votes gained by the two candidates were very close, with Bush gaining only 1,784 more votes than Gore, votes were recounted again and again and appeals were filed.
The intense legal battle lasted for 36 days.
Eventually, the US Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 vote that the Florida recounts could not be completed before a Dec 12 “safe harbour” deadline, and should therefore cease and the previously certified total should hold.
It put Gore in a hopeless situation and Bush won.
In fact, Gore received 543,895 more popular votes than Bush across the whole country.
However, the US President is decided by electoral votes. Therefore, although Gore won the popular vote, he still lost to Bush who gained more electoral votes.
For Gore, it was indeed a painful result.
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision being accused of political bias, Gore still showed his respect to the rule of law and graciously accepted the defeat. He said, “While I strongly disagree with the court’s position, I accept it.”
He called for supporters to accept the finality of the outcome, put the country’s interests before the party and unite behind the new President.
It is one of the most classic and controversial presidential elections in US history, not only because it is filled with intrigues, but also because it exposed the unfairness of the American electoral system of politics.
It could hardly be imagined that the Americans, who attach high importance to democracy and human rights, would still accept such a flawed electoral system even today.
The 13th General Election in Malaysia has also exposed a flaw in the electoral system.
Pakatan Rakyat lost the election even though it was able to win the popular vote. It has triggered a controversy over the electoral system, while leading to protracted lawsuits.
It is too early to talk about the outcome of the lawsuits and what I am concerned about is, would the defeated party helplessly accept the court’s decision like Gore or launch a new round of battle, after the court’s decision is announced?
