Where had the 900+ voters allegedly deleted from the roll, gone?

Here’s an analysis of what happened to 900+ missing voters, as charged by PKR. (Sent by Cheah Kah Seng)

———————
[For all tables and data, please see:

http://malvu.blogspot.com/2008/08/were-900-voters-deleted-and-replaced-in.html ]
Were 900+ Voters Deleted and Replaced in Permatang Pauh?
The numbers are about right – 951 voters were deleted from Permatang Pauh and replaced by another 961 since the 12th GE. But the reasons were technical and not too sinister. Still, the whole confusing affair highlights the needs for SPR transparency and voter registration reform.

…

Our investigation did find that 951 voters were “deleted” after the 12 GE in Permatang Pauh, while another 961 voters were “added” to the by-election roll dated 2008 Jul.

But we also found that these changes were due to three not-too-cynical reasons and minor SPR mistakes:

1. The technicality of modifying police IC numbering scheme,
2. Regular voter registrations, inward and outward movements, and
3. SPR’s dead-voter deletion overdrive.

Read Full Post »

The election is NOT finished yet!

It may come a a surprise that the election is not neccesarily finished yet: there are issues which need addressing. These issues if left unaddressed, will come back to haunt us in future elections. Some argue that since the results favour the disadvantaged Federal Opposition all is forgiven and forgotten. Well to quote the candidate Anwar: `I can forgive but not forget!’ So these are the post-election issues which had not left us post-election, and there could be explosive revelations if the truth are uncovered:

Read Full Post »

ANFREL & NIEI’s PC: M’sian election system desperately need overhaul!(UPDATED)

ANFREL(Asian Network for Free and Fair Elections) and NIEI(National Institute for Electoral Integrity) released their report on the just concluded by-election in Permatang Pauh where they called for overhaul of the entire election system. Their findings have added new angles to the election observations organised by MAFREL eg on ways to avoid phantom voters; on need to stop campaigning on polling day; on abuse of government resources in party campaigning; on using children for campaigning; on the lack of openness to election observers; on the intimidating presence of security forces; the `lawlessness’ of the political parties; the bias media; incidents of violence; the tainted electoral roll etc.

Read Full Post »

Taking a look at post-election reports

After the official announcement of Anwar Ibrahim’s victory, Najib was quoted saying “This is his political base and the results reflected that there was no manipulation involved” in the NST article (27/08) entitled Najib: Voters have spoken. As expected, this would be the rhetoric of the ruling coalition if Anwar wins a bigger majority compared to his wife, Wan Azizah, in the March 8 elections (13388). It was speculated also that if Anwar were to win by a smaller majority, the ruling coalition would’ve declared it a victory of sort. However, Najib’s statement that ‘there was no manipulation involved’ certainly contradicts the findings and reports submitted to MAFREL throughout the campaigning period. On the eve of polling day, MAFREL sounded the alarm “that the forces against free and fair elections will be expected to try their best to undermine the credibility of the election –together with the people’s choice, up to the last minute of polling and announcement of result.” The red alert was further reinforced yesterday with the arrest of 4 PKR members who stopped the buses alleged to be carrying phantom voters (instead of arresting the phantom voters), ‘dead voter’ turning up at the polling station, and missing names from the updated roll. Therefore, it would’ve been more accurate to say that the PKR candidate, Anwar Ibrahim, won with a bigger majority despite the manipulation and irregularities involved.

Read Full Post »

Anwar won! (chart)

chart courtesy of malaysiakini.

Read Full Post »

He is not dead!

A voter was found `dead’ by the SPR when he went to vote this morning. The mistake was said to be from the NRD-but the `dead’ voter prefered to make a police report at Seberang Jaya Police station. Such mistakes seems to constitute a pattern as voters across the 3 state constituencies were found to miss the vote after their name dissappear from the updated to July 31st roll. Most of them voted in the Mar 8th General Election.

The full list of voters who missed out will follow. MAFREL will look into the disturbing pattern that emerged from the keenly faught election.

Read Full Post »

Anwar won!Official results in

According to progressive declaration of results from Tuanku Bainun College -the vote accumulation centre for the Permatang Pauh by-election Anwar has won the election with only the extent of majority being uncertain. Anwar lead in almost all voting streams announced so far -except in a few locations in Seberang Jaya-the state constituency of his opponent -Arif Shah. Prediction of Anwar’s margin ranged from consevative 8000 votes to 24 000 votes. Voters turn out maintains at 81%, almost identical to the turn out at Mar 8th General Elections.

Official:

Hakim :92

PKR: 31 195

BN: 15 524

Majority: 15 671

Read Full Post »

4 including MP Gobalakrisnan & 2 sons arrested for stopping phantom voters (Updated)

The poll today ended with a dramatic twist: 4 persons were held for investigation into the stopping of 5 buses said to be ferrying phantom voters from Melaka. Those held included MP for Bagan Serai N Gobalakrisna & 2 sons. The 4th person is a body guard of the MP. The shocking aspect was : the MP was assalted in front of the public when he protested against the handculfing of his 2 sons at around 4.50pm, in front of the Balai Polis Seberang Jaya. FRUs were mobilised at split seconds to disperse the growing crowd in front of the police station.

The episode was an extraordinary drama:

2.30pm Gobalakrisna was notified by party workers that there were suspicious buses parking at Kubang Semang toll exit along BKE highway. He went along to find out.

When he arrived he found 2 empty buses parking by the road side of the high way, guarded by police. He found out from the driver that they came from Melaka, with passengers consisting of Thais and Indonesians. He suggested that the police bring the buses to the police station for investigation into possible phantom voters involvement in the by-election. The driver disagreed because he was waiting for the passengers to come back from voting!

So a commotion ensued.

4.00pm The police finally agreed to bring the 2 buses together with 2 others -full of passengers, to the Seberang Jaya police station. Gobalakrisna made a police report about the suspected phantom voters. While he was in front of the gate he was shocked to find his 2 sons handcuffed by the police on the excuse that the police need to hold the 2 persons for assisting into investigation of the stopping of the buses. Gobalakrisna was shocked and protested at the provocative police action. Then he was also held by the police after suffering some punches and kicks from the FRU. The assault continued into the police station, with his wife screaming protest at the gate.

She too was assaulted in front of the astonished crowd.

Then the FRU assembled into formation in split seconds and pushed the crowd out back onto the highway. But the assembled media was no less a crowd.

6.00pm As a refelction of how seriously the police took the event the new CPO Datuk Ayub came with a few assistants. After about half an hour he was seen coming out of the police station. The media asked him for a press conference. He mentioned that the police is not certain to arrest the Gobalakrisna’s family yet, depending on the investigation.

7.00pm At the time of report the Gobalas are still held by the police, with a horde of media and party supporters milling around.

UPDATE:

8.00pm The 4 were confirmed arrested by police. Gobalakrisna was sent to hospital for some treatment an then transfered to  Perda Police HQ. The other 3 were still kept in Seberang Jaya police station.

Read Full Post »

Polling Day Blog

7.30am Volunteers started to go to each of the 28 polling centres. All told we signed up about 200 volunteers due to last minute rush to sign up.

9.00am I started to check polling centres in Seberang Jaya.

SK Tok Kandu : All 3 volunteers were allowed into the voting station/class room. Well done to KTM there. However here are 2 video cameras training on voters coming through the gate. Loud crowds.

SK Seberang Jaya Persiaran Siakap: 3 persons were allowed into classrooms to do observation-then 2 asked to leave. 1 elderly Sikh man desperated that he could not vote because his name dissappeared from the roll. He was able to vote in the school before. His wife’s name was however found in the roll and voted; We will check if there is a general pattern in view of allegation of voters being moved out of the constituency;

SK Permatang Pauh : UMNO members/supporters pulled down PKR banners and caused a scuffle with PKR supporters;

10.30am A volunteer called to inform me that there was a PKR member arrested due to some scuffle in SK Seri Penanti.

12.30pm SK Tun Hussein: Dato Kamarulzaman called me to ask MAFREL/me to ask all volunteers without the SPR tags to leave the schools. He accused MAFREL of issuing MAFREL tags which `authorised’ volunteers to enter restricted zone within polling centres-which was not true. Our volunteers entered schools which acted as polling stations with police/KTM permission.

Later MAFREL volunteers from the school called to say they have been ejected by police at Kamarulzaman’s order. It is sad to hear that as I had just visited them and introduce them to the SPR officers staffing the SPR info booth.

We were then caught by a heavy downpour which could affect votrs’ turn out. However when we return to office the rain was not affecting that area. Probably the rain is not affecting the entire constituency.

12.45pm 1st phantom voters sms received. It is difficult to believe or disbelieve such annonymous smses. We will keep an eye on anymore news about it.

1.00pm An SPR officer come to complain that she could not vote normally after she missed the postal vote arranged for all SPR officers. She was asked to consult the District Office on getting her voting paper. The DO Roslan yahaya is also the Returning Officer of this election.

2.30pm MAFREL received a complaint from PKR that there is an offensive banner accusing Anwar a `kaki liwat Cina’ -they called us to help take down the offensive banner-which proliferate in the last rush of the election;

3.30pm more sms on invading hordes of phantom voters. The last minutes of the polling  time is expected to be critical for the monitoring of phantoms…

Read Full Post »

Whole Penisular road-blocked due to a by-election-justified?

From various reports (eg http://www.malaysiakini.com ) the police will set up road blocks from as far as KL  to stop people to engage in `election tourism’ to Permatang Pauh tomorrow. Is it justified-where so many people will be inconvenienced? It may reflect a certain strategy of BN to keep the ground reality at Permatang  Pauh from being witnessed by the outsiders-and thereby punctuate the mainstream (mis)representation of the realities in Permatang Pauh. But the people may not share this thinking -and if anything they probably like to be told the truth than fictions. It is sad that the nation’s security apparatus is used as a political tool by the ruling parties.

Non-voters told to stay away tomorrow
S Pathmavathy | Aug 25, 08 7:40pm  http://www.malaysiakini.com

The contest for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat is the most unusual by-election ever witnessed in this country, according to Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar today.
MCPX

“I have never seen a by-election that is as militant, aggressive and violent as this one,” he told a press conference in the Parliament lobby.

Read Full Post »