KUCHING, Dec 19: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak claimed that the 12th Sarawak Election was unfair and there was a lack of equal access to mainstream media compared to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidates.
The political party believed that there were instances of illegal practices during campaigning.
As such, it believed the election lacked legitimacy and pointed out that electoral reform is needed to ensure free and fair elections and end political dominance in Sarawak.
“These incidences have been reported to the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and Election Commission (EC) and we are waiting on the authorities to take action,” it said in a statement yesterday.
Adding on, the Opposition party alleged that GPS had wanted to suppress the votes of the youth and timed the election to take place before Undi18 comes into effect on Jan 1, 2022.
In view of that, PKR Sarawak said around 150,000 youth had missed the opportunity to vote.
It added that over half a million additional voters recently added to the electoral roll were unable to vote. These changes were not due to be implemented until January 2022.
PKR Sarawak also alleged that the EC failed to implement postal votes for voters in Peninsular Malaysia despite nearly 250,000 Sarawakians living there.
It also claimed that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the date of the election being held on a Saturday both led to poor voter turnout.
PKR Sarawak opined that if the 12th Sarawak Election were to be held on a Sunday, it would give Sarawakians who live outside of the State time to travel back to vote, adding that some voters have to travel by air, road, and water to make it back to their constituencies. — DayakDaily
