Bersih: What credibility do foreign election observers have?
(FMT) – Observers from countries which do not practice proper democractic principles should not monitor our elections, says electoral reform group.
The Bersih reform group has questioned the Election Commission’s (EC) choice of international observers to monitor the coming general election.
The group asked if countries sending these observers were already practising sound democratic principles themselves.
“If they come from countries which do not practice a proper democractic system, then there is no point in having them as election observers,” said Bersih secretariat member Mandeep Singh.
“Cambodia? Seriously? Look at their democracy. What is the justification for having these countries send their representatives?”
Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan have confirmed their participation as international election observers for Malaysia’s 14th general election.
Out of the seven countries, only one (Timor Leste) is ranked higher than Malaysia in world democracy rankings.
The Economist’s Democracy Index 2017 and Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2018 report both place Malaysia on a higher ranking than the other six countries.
The Economist considered Cambodia and Azerbaijan to be authoritarian regimes, while Freedom House referred to Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan as “consolidated authoritarian regimes”.
The EC said foreign observers would comprise officials from its counterparts who will monitor the election from before nomination day (April 28) until after polling day (May 9) and make their recommendations public.
The EC previously announced that election monitoring would be performed on a reciprocal basis, with observers from countries that have previously invited Malaysia to send observers.
Bersih acting chairman Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari said there was no intention to offend the seven countries with the remarks made by Bersih.
“But the EC needs to be objective on this matter. How will these observers be effective if, in their own countries, (the observers) do no practise proper democractic principles,” he said.
Bersih also questioned the absence of invitations to the Carter Centre or Asian Network for Free and Fair Elections.
The EC said invitations were sent to 14 countries. Myanmar, Australia and Kazakhstan rejected the invitation, while Bosnia Herzegovina, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan and New Zealand have yet to respond.
The EC did not provide a full list of names of the observers nor did it state their exact mandate.
Meanwhile, EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah has also announced the appointment of the hitherto little-known Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre, based in Cambridge, UK, to provide “research and support”.
Hashim said 14 domestic NGOs and representatives of local universities had also been invited to observe the elections.
Peninsular Malaysia representatives include Majlis Belia Malaysia; Persatuan Pengundi Wawasan Malaysia; Pusat Pengajian Sejarah, Politik & Strategik Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; Fakulti Komunikasi dan Pengajian Media Universiti Teknologi Mara; Universiti Kuala Lumpur; and Persatuan OKB Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor.
From Sabah and Sarawak: Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Sarawak, Persatuan Kebangsaan Orang Ulu Sarawak, Persatuan Kebangsaan Dayak Bidayuh, Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Persatuan Melanau Sibu, Persatuan Cina Miri, Majlis Belia Sabah and Dewan Perniagaan Bumiputera Sabah.
