Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced that a special committee will be set up to oversee the Election Commission (EC).
According to Bernama today, Najib said the move was to "strengthen the EC's authority and credibility".
To those ends, it reported that "the government will set up a special committee comprising members of parliament from the Barisan Nasional and the opposition to oversee the commission".
"With this step, it is hoped that the independence of the EC will no longer be questioned and the people's confidence toward the EC will be strengthened," Bernama today quoted the PM saying.
He said this during his congratulatory speech to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah on the latter's birthday and investiture ceremony involving the presentation of awards and medals at Istana Negara today.
However the report did not provide any further details on the nature of the committee nor the timeline for implementation.
The move comes as Pakatan Rakyat launched a major campaign to discredit the commission following claims of fraud in the 13th general election last month.
The opposition coalition won 51 percent of the popular vote but only captured 40 percent of the seats in Parliament compared to the ruling coalition, which merely won 47 percent of the popular vote but captured 60 percent of seats due to gerrymandering.
A redelineation exercise by the EC is due later this year and Pakatan is expected to pressure for a correction to the imbalance in the constituencies, attributed to gerrymandering and malapportionment to give BN an advantage.
Meanwhile Najib added the government would extend its full cooperation to the EC to further improve the credibility of general elections in the country although the 13th general election went smoothly without a hitch.
The prime minister urged certain quarters not to damage the trustworthiness of the EC by making unfounded allegations against the commission.
He said the commission was not a government agency or department but was a mechanism set up based on provisions under the federal constitution.
(Source: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com)
According to Bernama today, Najib said the move was to "strengthen the EC's authority and credibility".
To those ends, it reported that "the government will set up a special committee comprising members of parliament from the Barisan Nasional and the opposition to oversee the commission".
"With this step, it is hoped that the independence of the EC will no longer be questioned and the people's confidence toward the EC will be strengthened," Bernama today quoted the PM saying.
He said this during his congratulatory speech to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah on the latter's birthday and investiture ceremony involving the presentation of awards and medals at Istana Negara today.
However the report did not provide any further details on the nature of the committee nor the timeline for implementation.
The move comes as Pakatan Rakyat launched a major campaign to discredit the commission following claims of fraud in the 13th general election last month.
The opposition coalition won 51 percent of the popular vote but only captured 40 percent of the seats in Parliament compared to the ruling coalition, which merely won 47 percent of the popular vote but captured 60 percent of seats due to gerrymandering.
A redelineation exercise by the EC is due later this year and Pakatan is expected to pressure for a correction to the imbalance in the constituencies, attributed to gerrymandering and malapportionment to give BN an advantage.
Meanwhile Najib added the government would extend its full cooperation to the EC to further improve the credibility of general elections in the country although the 13th general election went smoothly without a hitch.
The prime minister urged certain quarters not to damage the trustworthiness of the EC by making unfounded allegations against the commission.
He said the commission was not a government agency or department but was a mechanism set up based on provisions under the federal constitution.
(Source: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com)
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