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Batu Talam by-election on Jan 28

Andrew Ong, Malaysiakini Jan 4, 07 3:53pm

The by-election for the Batu Talam state seat will be held on Jan 28, with nomination day fixed for Jan 16.Announcing this today, Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said candidates contesting in the by-election would have 12 days to campaign.The Batu Talam state seat fell vacant following the demise of its representative Tengku Paris Tengku Razlan, 66, due to rectal cancer last Wednesday. In the 2004 general election, Tengku Paris edged PAS candidate Mohamed Nilam Abdul Manap by 2,761 votes. There were 10,866 registered voters then. This time round, there is a slight drop in the number of eligible voters – 10,525 – including 14 postal voters who are all policemen serving in the constituency. “The number has decreased because we managed to trace voters who had died… we want to make sure nobody votes on their behalf,” remarked Abdul Rashid at a press conference in Putrajaya this morning. To a question on past by-elections which saw opposition supporters stopping buses from entering the electoral constituency, Abdul Rashid advised such individuals not to do so and let the courts decide on allegations of phantom voters. “It (phantom voting) can’t happen. How can we bring voters from elsewhere to vote for others?” he said. ‘We can’t take action’ Abdul Rashid expects results to be announced by about 10pm as there will be only 23 polling stations and 12 polling centres. He added that there should be no communication problems under such circumstances. He also advised political parties to ‘limit’ the use of posters during campaigning to a ‘reasonable’ number. “People are already familiar with the parties that contest,” he added. A total of RM100,000 have been budgeted for running the by-election. To a question, Abdul Rashid reiterated that the law does not allow the EC to take action against those who overspend the RM100,000 limit for campaigning. “After the election, candidates have to submit accounts to us and we gazette the expenditure that is meant for the opponent to examine. That is (according) to the law,” he explained. On election watchdog Malaysians for a Free and Fair Elections’ (Mafrel) 30-point recommendations to the commission, Abdul Rashid expressed his gratitude for their effort, but with reservations. “Some are good, but some are doubtful. But it’s okay. It’s good that there are people who care about the elections. We welcome that very much, but the way they do it is not right. We will make sure they do the right thing, because it helps the commission to identify its weaknesses, “I have met them and I have to say ‘thank you’ for what they do, although they did not do it officially with our blessings. There must be rules… you cannot just gate-crash into polling stations. We are bound by the law. Only certain people may enter,” Third by-election This by-election is the third under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s premiership since Kuala Berang, Terengganu in 2004 and Pengkalan Pasir, Kelantan, in 2005. In Kuala Berang, Barisan Nasional candidate Mohd Zawawi Ismail scored an easy win with a 2,059 majority. In contrast, BN candidate Hanafi Mamat won a bitterly fought contest and came away with a wafer-thin majority of 134 votes in the nail-biting by-election in Pengkalan Pasir. According to the 2004 general election figures, Malays make up the majority of voters (79%) followed by Chinese (11%), Indians (5%) and others ethnic groups (5%).

彭峇都达南州补选 16日提名28日投票

07年1月4日 早上11:24 调整字体大小:

选举委员会今早宣布彭亨州峇都达南补选的提名日期为本月16日，而投票日期则是28日，一共有12天的拉票时间。 选举委员会主席阿都拉昔（左图）透露，峇都达南共有1万525名登记选民。在这当中邮寄选民只有14人。惟详细的选民分布，则有待公布。 根据上届选举的选民分布，峇都达南一共有8千494名马来选民，1千225名华裔选民，599名印裔选民以及剩余的则是原住民。 预料在这场补选中，巫统候选人将会直接对垒回教党候选人。 选举委员会对改革选举建议有所保留 选举委员会主席阿都拉昔（左图）表示，峇都达南州议席的投票人数比上届有所减少，是因为选举委员会已经鉴定了该区逝世的选民人数，以防止别人为他们投票。他宣称这次的补选将会尽量防止幽灵选民的出现。 “所以这次所公布的选民人数是经过有系统的处理而编制成的,也是峇都达南区在2007年的最新选民人数。” 针对过往的补选，曾发生候选人支持者阻止巴士驶入选区的问题，他表示选举委员会对此无法采取任何行动。 他补充说，像上述一样的问题应交由法庭来决定这些支持者是否有触及违法行为，不归选举委员会的管辖范围。 阿都拉希也透露，他期待由这场拥有23个投票站及12个投票中心的补选成绩，也希望在整个补选能够顺利地进行。 他甚至建议各政党能尽量减少使用海报，以便让补选能够更公平的进行。 “若选民皆非常熟悉政党的海报，就可尽量不要使用海报了。” 阿都拉希也承认，若候选人动用超过10万令吉竞选费用的预算，选举委员会在法律上也无能为力。 “在选举后,根据法律的条文，候选人必须把选举花费的帐目提交上来,我们还要在政府公报中宣布，让对手检验。” 至于大马公平自由选举运动（Mafrel)所提出的30项改革选举制度建议，阿都拉昔虽在表面上有所感激，但是却持有保留的态度。 “有些建议是好的，有些却值得质疑，不过不要紧。有人关心选举是好事。我们欢迎这点，但是他们做事的方式却不对。我们将会确保他们做对的事，因为这能协助选举委员会纠正本身的弱点。” 国阵州议员因肠癌病逝 自1999年开始担任峇都达南区州议员的东姑巴利斯，于12月27日因肠癌而在吉兰丹话望生医院病逝，导致劳勿的峇都达南选区出现悬空情况。 由于上届选举于2004年3月21日举行，距离至今不足3年，根据选举法令，若州议员任期不足3年期间逝世或辞职，则必须在60天内举行补选。 在上届选举的彭亨42个州议席，国阵囊获41席，巫统获得31席、马华8席、民政党和国大党各1席，反对党方面只有行动党占1席。回教党则是最大的输家，于1999年因安华事件而从巫统手上夺得的7个州议席，全告败溃。 回教党于上两届大选，即2004年及1999年期间都派遣莫哈末尼兰上阵，惟都败给东姑巴利斯。在上届大选，东姑巴利斯是以2761张多数票击退莫哈末尼兰，而成功蝉联。 在上届大选中，选民的投票率是76.43%或8千305人。而东姑巴利斯的2761多数票，也远比他在1999年所获得的931张多数票，激增许多。 峇都达南曾在1993年，发生轰动全国的巫师阿芬迪及莫娜夫妇，谋杀肢解当时的州议员马兹兰一案。 根据新海峡时报报道，巫统劳勿区部最近发生内部问题，一名党员因为土地拥有权纠纷，而起诉数名区部领袖。结果副首相兼巫统署理主席纳吉不得不插手此事，并促请有关区部领袖停止内斗，以确保国阵能够在补选中胜出。 回教党促投反对票抗议涨价 另一方面，回教党促请选民利用峇都达南州议席的补选，来发出不满的讯息给国阵政府，以抗议燃油、天然气、大道过路费以及电费的涨价。该党副主席胡桑慕沙促请华裔及马来选民把握手中一票，支持反对党候选人。他相信回教党中央领导层将会派出候选人参选，虽然之前曾有建议要杯葛这场补选活动。 胡桑慕沙也认为峇都达南州议席的补选，对反对党来说是一项“热身”项目，以评估人民对反对党的支持力量，只要减低国阵的多数票就可以视为一项成功。 而回教党秘书卡马鲁丁，则认为补选可说是对国阵政府的中期评估，人民可以检视是否满意巫统和首相阿都拉的施政表现。 公正党回教党争取上阵 日前，公正党也提出派遣本身候选人上阵，以争取中间和华裔选民的支持。公正党认为回教党的基本盘支持度已经达至定限，而缺乏的就是华裔选民的支持，因此应该派出最有赢面的多元种族政政党上阵。 虽然反对党阵线仍未做出最后的定夺，惟胡桑慕沙相信，有关选区是回教党长期上阵的传统选区，应该会交由回教党上阵。 无论如何，公正党宣布该党顾问安华将会全力参与补选，以图掀起反风。