Bersih’s tribunal gets EC tip-offs on likely electoral fraud
(TMI) – From the “thousands of complaints” the Bersih People’s Tribunal has received on electoral fraud so far, the surprise has been several “leads” provided by Election Commission officials.
Why this is surprising is because the EC is also being investigated by the tribunal for its conduct in the 13th General Election, said the tribunal’s legal team chief, Professor Gurdial Singh (pic, 3rd from left).
The “leads” provided by the EC officers have been investigated by lawyers and the findings will be presented when the tribunal sits from September 18 to 22.
Gurdial said the tribunal is also tasked with finding out whether the EC had acted fairly and independently in carrying out their tasks in the polls on May 5.
Gurdial, who is also Professor of Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Malaya and Director of the Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity Law, said the leads were just a few from “several thousand complaints” on election malpractices the tribunal had received since June.
The tribunal was mooted in response to the public outcry and concerns of electoral fraud and irregularities in Malaysia’s 13th general election.
Bersih’s Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan had said that the tribunal may not have any legal standing but will serve as a “moral force” to publicly expose electoral fraud.
“These complaints have come from various sources – observers from political parties, the public and also election petitions from both sides. They have identified themselves by names and contact,” Gurdial told The Malaysian Insider today.
A team of 30 lawyers will collate all the information and investigate then follow-up on the complaints.
Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bersihs-tribunal-gets-ec-tip-offs-on-likely-electoral-fraud
