EC urges Pakatan to register with ROS....

Election Commission deputy chief Wan Ahmad Wan Omar(right) today urged Pakatan Rakyat to formally register as a political coalition to avoid breaking the law in future elections. He said the opposition front have consistently broken rules under the Election Offences Act over 16 by-elections, simply because they are viewed as three separate parties and not a single political entity.

"They have already agreed to 'pakat' (work together), so what's wrong with simply registering (as a coalition) so they can be like BN," he said at a press conference at Dewan Tun Razak in Kerdau today.

Wan Ahmad pointed out that because they are not an official coalition, Pakatan parties that are not contesting a seat cannot do any campaigning or put up their party logos and flags. He said BN has no problem as the many parties under the ruling coalition are registered as BN members under the Registrar of Societies, making them legally able to campaign.

"When you are not registered (as an entity), then you are breaking the law but still you see non-contesting parties setting up their operations centres and campaigning. "I'm not trying to teach Pakatan what to do, it is their right (not to register). But the implication is direct to us, because the EC and police will have to deal with it," he lamented.

Wan Ahmad pointed out that Pakatan had committed numerous offences over the past 16 by-elections, which he expects would only get worse come the general elections. "We have 222 parliamentary and 576 state assembly seats, so if in just one by-election they can break so many rules, I can't imagine what it will be like during the general elections," he said. When asked why the authorities have not taken action despite his claim that Pakatan consistently flout election rules, Wan Ahmad stressed that enforcement may not be the best course of action.

"The police can choose to be strict, but if that is the case then what will happen on polling day? If they bring in three, four trucks and start hauling people in, what do you think will happen during the polls? "What is important is for everything to run smoothly and peacefully, and to achieve that we need public cooperation, which in this case means the political parties."

'Don't be vigilantes'

Wan Ahmad meanwhile urged political parties to make sure their supporters and party workers are well-versed in election rules to avoid sticky situations during polling day. He was referring to an incident in SK Paya Taram, the polling station for the mixed polling district of Kerdau town, where a voter was allegedly stopped from entering the polling station by workers of a certain party for wearing a 1Malaysia t-shirt.

It is understood that a group of workers of a certain party, which Wan Ahmad did not name, had allegedly stopped the voter and told him to either change his shirt or turn it inside-out before allowing him to enter the polling station. Wan Ahmad said the voter complied with their demands, but stressed that it was illegal for the party workers to stop the voter.

"I had already said that there is no problem with logos, as long as they are not of the contesting parties. What these party workers did is a very serious offence under election laws.

"If the voter decided to lodge a police report, they (party workers) would end up going to the dock for no good reason... I urge the political parties to make sure their supporters understand the rules because we keep on saying telling them the same things every time," he said.

source:malaysiakini

'SPR nasihat daftar Pakatan untuk guna logo dalam p'raya'


"Saya tak nak mengajar parti, saya nasihat pembangkang supaya daftarlah parti-parti anda (pembangkang) dengan Pendaftar Pertubuhan,jelas Wan Ahmad.

Nak kata dia ni bangang,dia Timbalan SPR. Pakatan dah buat pendaftaran tapi ROS buat ingat2 lupa. Kalau ROS boleh daftar parti KITA sepantas halilintar, apa pula masalah dengan PR?

Pokoknya, mereka di Putrajaya yang buat hal dan sepatutnya SPR sebagai komponen BN, tak kanlah Wan Ahmad diberitahu oleh bosnya atau pura2 buat tak tahu.....

cheers.