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It's all going smoothly, says polls panel

Wednesday, 07 December 2011 09:11am

©The New Straits Times (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission's preparation for the next general election is moving smoothly, with the initial stages expected to be fully completed by February.

Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said yesterday it was now conducting briefings for election officers and managers at polling centres nationwide.

"We are about to begin training and briefing for other election workers in areas such as transportation and verifying voter registration records, all of which should be completed by February.

"Other areas, including logistics and preparation of materials, are also going according to schedule," he told the New Straits Times.

Wan Ahmad declined to respond to speculations that the preparations were indication that the election would be held by March, saying it was for the government to decide.

The government, he said, had approved the commission's budget of RM300 million, up from RM200 million in the last general election.

Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof had said last week that the increased expenditure was due to several factors, including the increase in voters and the need for additional election materials such as ballot boxes and vehicles.

The budget also took into account possible innovations, such as the use of indelible ink and postal voting for voters abroad, depending on the approval of recommendations put forth by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform.

In Kuala Terengganu yesterday, Wan Ahmad said the commission had struck off almost 40,000 names on the electoral roll in the first and second quarter of this year following confirmation of deaths with the National Registration Department.

He said the figure could easily reach 50,000 by end of this month as the police had implemented their link-up with the NRD on deaths reported at police stations nationwide.

"The direct link-up between police and the NRD took effect on Dec 1 and we believe the electoral roll clean-up will be faster with the smoother transfer of data on deaths," he said after launching a briefing for Terengganu election officers.

Asked whether still having the names of the dead in the electoral roll could give rise to accusations of phantom voters, Wan Ahmad said the issue was just a perception created by political parties.

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