Don’t let EC change your voter address without your signed application

Tuesday June 29, 2010
EC can’t change addresses of voters on its own

KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) has no authority to change the address of voters without a signed application from them, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz said.

Under the Elections (Regis­tration of Electors) Regulations, he said voters who wanted to apply for a change in address in the electoral rolls must apply to the EC, he said.

“The EC does not change the polling station of a voter from one place to another without receiving any signed application from the voter,” he said in a written reply to DAP MP Teresa Kok in the Dewan Rakyat, who wanted to know the reason for an increase in the number of complaints over the transfer of names of voters in the rolls without the knowledge of the voters.

However, he said the EC had the power to remove the names of voters who were confirmed dead, missing or who had lost their citizenship.

In a statement yesterday, the EC indicated that it was not necessary to make it mandatory for Malaysians to vote.

“The current election system is conducive and practical. If it is made mandatory, it would involve enforcement which can burden the people.

“Moreover, making it mandatory to register or vote is against Article 5 of the Federal Consti­tution that touches on an individual’s rights to liberty. It is also against the democratic principle practised in our country,” the statement said.

The EC was responding to a reader’s letter in The Star on June 24 which stated that the Govern­ment should make voting mandatory to ensure that everyone knew their rights and fulfilled their moral obligation to vote.

“No individual or party that is qualified under EC laws has been prevented from taking part in the election process, whether to vote or to contest.

“Thus, EC believes that the high voting percentage of more than 73% of those qualified to vote, is a clear sign that Malaysians are aware of their rights as enshrined in the Constitution,” the statement added.

The EC also responded to the reader’s query on postal votes, saying that voters could also register at the EC counter in Putra­jaya, at state election offices, EC mobile counters and at computerised post office coun­ters.

However, it stated that online voting was currently not allowed as it could be open to forgery and impersonation of individuals, adding that they were studying such matters in detail.