SYSTEM
OF ELECTIONS |
Since 1957, Malaysia has retained a multi-party political
system whereby the political party which secures the majority
of the Parliamentary seats (House of Representatives)
or the State Legislative Assembly seats can form the Federal
or State Government as the case may be. The system used
in Malaysia is based on the First-Past-The-Post
System. This implies that the candidate
who secures a simple majority will be declared the winner
in that constituency.
|
|
ELECTION
LAWS AND REGULATIONS |
To facilitate the implementation of elections a number
of laws and regulations have been enacted to ensure
the election procedure is strictly followed. The laws
and regulations formulated are:
1.
Federal Constitution
2. States Constitution
3. Election Act, 1958 (Act 19)
4. Election Offences Act, 1954 (Act 5)
5. Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations, 1981
6. Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations,
2002
7. Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003
These laws and
regulations are directly involved with the election process.
However other relevant laws which are not directly involved
in the election process but have a role in its smooth
conduct include the Police Act 1962; Sedition Act 1970;
Official Secrets Act 1972; and the Internal Security Act
1960. |
|
IMPORTANT
ELEMENTS IN ELECTIONS |
The important elements for the conduct of elections are
:
- Constituency
- Elector
- Candidate
- Election Process
|
|
NUMBER
OF CONSTITUENCIES |
In the election system practised by Malaysia, a candidate
is elected to represent the residents of that constituency
at Parliament (Federal Election) or the State Legislative
Assembly (State Election). To date there are 222 House
of Representatives seats (Parliament) and 576 State Legislative
Seats.
|
|
DELIMITATION
OF CONSTITUENCIES |
The Election Commission, as part of its main function,
is responsible for reviewing the boundaries of Parliamentary
and State Constituencies. As provided for under the Federal
Constitution, the Election Commission is to undertake
this review at intervals of not less than 8 years.
|
|
REGISTRATION OF
ELECTORS |
An important element in the election system is that the
elector has to register with the Election Commission before
he can vote in an election for the House of Representatives
or the State Legislative Assembly.
In Malaysia, a person is entitled to register if he :
i) is a Malaysian Citizen;
ii) is not less than 21 years of age on the qualifying
date;
iii) is resident in any election constituency in Malaysia;
and
iv) is not disqualified.
|
|
DISQUALIFICATION |
An elector will be disqualified if he :
i)
on the qualifying date is detained as a person of unsound
mind or is serving a sentence of imprisonment;
or
ii) before the qualifying date he has been convicted of
an offence and sentenced to death or
imprisonment for a term exceeding 12 months and is still
liable on the qualifying date; or
iii) found guilty under the Election Offences Act, 1954;
or
iv) has acquired a foreign citizenship.
|
|
REVISION
OF ELECTORAL ROLL |
The revision of electoral roll is carried out throughout
the year as required by law. You can register at the Election
Commission’s Headquarters, State Election Offices, Post
Offices or through the Commission’s mobile teams. The
revised electoral rolls are prepared every 3 months and
they are displayed for 7 days for claims and objections.
After considering the claims and objections through public
enquiry, the electoral rolls for that year will be confirmed
by the Commission within a month. During revision of the
main roll, the names of deceased electors and those that
have been disqualified under the law will be expunged
from the roll.
|
|
QUALIFICATION
OF CANDIDATE |
In the Malaysian system of elections, a candidate contesting
can either represent a party or stand as an independent
candidate. He is qualified to be a candidate in any election
if he fulfills the following:
i) he is a Malaysian citizen and a resident of the country;
ii) he must not be less than 21 years of age on nomination
day; and
iii) he must be a resident of the State if contesting
a state seat.
A candidate will
be disqualified if he :
i) has been found or declared to be of unsound mind; or
ii) found to be an undischarged bankrupt; or
iii) holding an "office of profit"; or
iv) failed to lodge any return of election expenses; or
v) has been convicted of an offence by a court of law
in Malaysia and sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not less than 1 year or to a fine of not less
than RM2000 and has not received
a free pardon; or
vi) has obtained a foreign citizenship.
|
|
ELECTION
PERIOD |
Elections to the House of Reprensentatives and the State
Legislative Assembly are, as stipulated by law, held once
in 5 years unless dissolved sooner . The general election
will be held within a period of 60 days from the date
of dissolution.
By-elections
also have to be held within the period of 60 days from
the date of vacancy, caused by either death, resignation
or disqualification of a member of the House of Representatives
or the State Legislative Assembly. In this aspect, the
date of vacancy will be established by the Commission. |
|
ELECTION
PROCESS |
The general election or a by-election begins with the
issuance of an election writ by the Election Commission
to the Returning Officer. At the same time a notice will
be gazetted stipulating the dates of nomination and polling.
|
|
NOMINATION
DAY |
Nomination day refers to the day fixed by the Election
Commission for candidates to submit their nomination papers,
to contest in the election, to the Returning Officers.
The nomination papers can be submitted by the candidate,
the proposer and seconder or by anyone of them. The papers
must be submitted between the time of 9.00 am and 10.00
am on nomination day.
Between 10.00
am and 11.00 am, the nomination papers will be displayed
for scrutiny and objection. In the case where only one
candidate is nominated the Returning Officer will declare
him as elected without contest.
|
|
DEPOSIT |
A deposit of RM 10,000 for a parliamentary seat and RM
5,000 for a state seat has to be submitted to the Returning
Officer before nomination day or during the filing of
nomination papers. The
deposit will be forfeited if the candidate fails to secure
1/8 of the total number of votes polled by all the candidates
in the constituency.
|
|
USE OF SYMBOLS
|
A candidate representing a political party can use the
party's symbol provided he obtains permission in writing
from the head of the party. Independent candidates may
choose any of the symbols which have been provided by
the Election Commission and these will be printed in the
ballot papers.
|
|
CAMPAIGN |
Then
Election Commission has formulated special regulations
for campaigns as stipulated under the Election Offences
Act (Amendment) 2002. However, a campaign can only begin
after completion of the nomination process and should
end at 12.00 midnight before polling day. To ensure the
smooth conduct of elections, the Commission has provisions
under subsection 3(5) of the Elections Act 1958 and section
27A of the Election Offences Act 1954 to appoint and Enforcement
Officer and established one or more Enforcement Units
in each Parliamentary constituency if deem necessary.
This Unit will compromise the Enforcement Officer from
the Election Commission, a representative from District
Police Office, a representative from Local Government
Authority and a representative from each party/candidate
contesting.
The
Enforcement Officer is responsible to the Returning Officer
and the duties of his Unit cover overseeing campaign materials,
election speeches and public rallies, to ensure that the
provisions of Elections Laws and Regulations are not breached.
The Commission also sets up various committees at Federal/State/constituency
levels to brief political parties, candidates, or their
agents and workers on the Commission's laws and regulations.
Normally, election campaigns take the form of :
-
Distribution
of pamphlets, handbills, letters
-
Posters
-
Closed-door
talks and meetings as well as public rallies
-
House
to house canvassing
Political
parties are allowed to unveil and explain their party
manifesto. They can also use the electronic media. However
the candidates have to pay a deposit of RM5,000 for parliamentary
elections and RM3,000 for state elections. This deposit
will be returned if the candidates remove all posters,
banners etc within 14 days after the elections.
During
the campaign period the police will, from time to time,
issue separate quidelines to candidates contesting for
the peaceful conduct of the elections. All forms of campaigns
must end by 12.00 midnight the day before polling day.
|
POLLING
DAY |
Polling
day refers to the day electors cast their vote. Officially,
this day starts after 12.00 midnight and ends with the
announcement of the results. However, polling time is
fixed from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm for Peninsular Malaysia
and from 7.30 am to 5.00 pm for Sabah and Sarawak. For
remote areas, mobile teams are utilized to facilitate
polling. In addition, the polling times may differ in
different districts. The Election Commission normally
issues a general notice informing the public of important
matters concerning the election.
They include :
a) date of polling
b) location of polling stations
c) time of polling at all the polling stations
d) location of counting and tally centres
Voting
is carried out in gazetted polling stations. Each station
will have a Presiding Officer who will supervise the whole
process of voting. He will be assisted by voting and counting
clerks.
|
COMMISSION'S
ELECTION BOOTH (BARUNG SPR) |
The
present law does not allow candidate to open or maintain
an election booth at every polling centre within his constituency.
However the party is allowed to establish an operation
room as long as it is not closer than 50 meters from the
polling centre. To facilitate voting the Election Commission
malaysia will set up its election booth at all the pooling
centres These booths are to assist the electors to check
their electoral roll serial number and the polling stream
so as to ensure orderly polling.
|
|
PERMISSION
TO ENTER POLLING STATIONS |
Only electors whose names appear
in the principal electoral roll or the complementary electoral
rolls of a particular polling station are allowed to enter
to cast their vote. The electors Identity Card, issued
by the National Registration Department, forms the basis
of identification to be presented at all the pooling stations.
No person can vote in more than one constituency. To ensure
order and secrecy of the vote only the following officers
are allowed to enter the polling station:
|
|
a) members and officers
of the Election Commission;
b) the presiding officer and his election staff;
c) candidates and their election agents;
d) candidate’s polling / counting agents; and
e) anyone who has obtained the approval of the Election
Commission. |
HOW
TO VOTE |
Voting is by secret ballot. An elector will cast his vote
for one candidate only by marking the ballot paper with
a sign "X" against the name of the candidate of his choice.
After marking the ballot paper the voter will fold it
along the folds appearing on the ballot paper and insert
it in the ballot box provided. If
two papers are marked for simultaneous elections (House
of Representatives and State Legislative Assembly) each
of the ballot papers will have to be marked, folded and
inserted in separate boxes marked "PARLIMEN"
and "NEGERI"
|
|
POSTAL
VOTING |
The postal votes are mailed, as early as possible, to
electors who are entitled to vote by the postal vote method.
Postal voters normally comprise personnel from the armed
forces, Police Field Force, election officials on duty,
government officers serving overseas, students studying
overseas, and spouses.Postal
votes must reach the Returning Officer by 5.00 pm on polling
day. Proper procedures have been formulated to ensure
the secrecy of the vote.
|
|
POLLING AGENT |
The law permits a candidate to appoint a polling agent
for the purpose of safeguarding his interest at every
polling station at any one time. The
role of the agent is to ensure that the voting is conducted
in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.
|
|
COUNTING OF VOTES
|
Counting of votes is carried out by the Presiding Officer
at the pollling station or at a specified central counting
place. Postal votes for each constituency are counted
by the Returning Officer at the specified place.
During the counting
of votes only authorised persons are allowed to enter.
They are :
i) members and officers of the Election Commission;
ii) officers appointed by the Election Commission;
iii) counting clerks; and
iv) candidates, their election agents and their counting
agents.
The presence
of the candidates' agents is to ensure that the counting
is carried out in accordance with the proper process as
provided for by the relevant laws and regulations and
to ensure that the counting is correct, fair and transparent.
|
|
OFFICIAL
TALLYING OF VOTES |
After the completion of counting of votes at the various
polling stations and the central counting centre a statement
of the results of the poll will be forwarded to the Returning
Officer at the tally centre. The Returning officer will
add all the votes, inclusive of postal votes, to determine
the winner. The Returning
Officer for the constituency will declare the candidate,
who secures a simple majority, as the elected representative
of that constituency.
|
|
ELECTION
PETITION |
The results of the election can be challenged in court.
A petition can be lodged on the following grounds:
i) bribery, intimidation or any misconduct that may have
affected the result of the election;
ii) non-compliance with Election Laws and Regulations;
iii) corrupt or illegal practice committed by the candidate
or any of his agents;
iv) the candidate or his agent found to be disqualified
for the election.
The election
petition may be presented to the High Court Judge within
21 days after publication of the results in the Gazette.
If the Election Judge, after conducting a trial over an
election petition, decides the election to be void, the
Election Commission will give notice of a fresh election
for the constituency concerned.
|
|
RETURN OF ELECTION
EXPENSES |
A
candidate is entitled to incur expenses in the conduct of
the election but not in excess of :
a) RM200,000 for House of Representatives
b) RM100,000 for State Legislative Assembly The
report on the return of election expenses should be forwarded
to the State Election Officer within a period of 31 days
after the date of publication of the election results
in the Gazette. Failure to submit the statement of the
account of elections expenses or if he fails to submit
within the prescribed time he will be guilty of an illegal
practice as stipulated under the Election Offences Act,
1954. |
|
STORAGE
AND DISPOSAL OF ELECTION DOCUMENTS |
In the election process an important aspect is the storage
of the ballot papers and other relevant documents. These
documents are to be placed in a special box or boxes and
securely sealed in the presence of the agents of the candidates.
These boxes are
to be kept for a period of 6 months in the safe custody
of the Returning Officer. The State Elections Officer
however will store the marked electoral rolls and the
counterfoils of the ballot papers. This is to ensure the
secrecy of the vote. The boxes are only to be opened,
in cases of petition, under the order of a High Court
Judge.
After the period
of 6 months the Returning Officer, on obtaining permission
from the Election Commission, will destroy the ballot
papers and documents. The Returning Officer will submit
to the State Elections Officer the certificate of disposal.
|
|
CONCLUSION |
The process of elections in Malaysia is considered good
in view of the enactment of various laws and regulations
which ensure free and fair elections as well as transparency
of the process. In addition the election process ensures
a speedy declaration of the election results.
|
|
|
|