Saturday, May 19, 2018

14 Days - Have Tian Chua, Dr Streram,...filed their Election Petitions yet?

ELECTION PETITIONS - Well, Pakatan Harapan may have won in GE14 but remember that several candidates allegedly had their nominations rejected wrongfully ...even wrongly allowed to enter in time the Nomination Centre. 

Most famous of this was Tian Chua and  Dr Streram Sinnasamy(Prevented entry to file nomination in time by SPR officers). Several were alleged to be still a bankrupt although they alleged they were not. 

WELL, the time for filing Election Petitions is running out - It must be filed within 14 days from the date the Election Results are gazetted, and in other cases within 21 days from the date the Election Results are gazetted.

In Tian Chua's case, the court dismissed his earlier suit - stating that he must file an Election Petition. Has he done it yet? He must do so because his 'disqualification' not only affected Tian Chua's right - but the rights of the people of Batu to choose their MP.


PKR candidate Dr Streram Sinnasamy, who was denied entry into the nomination centre to file his papers, has filed a suit for misfeasance in public office against the returning officer and the Election Commission (EC).Streram, who is claiming damages amounting to RM7.6million, said the officer, Amino Agos Suyub, and the EC failed to carry out their duties in accordance with the Election Act 1958. Well, that is good - BUT he still must file an Election Petition, which if successful, will result in an election again which will result in him being chosen as the ADUN.

In Dr Streram's case, a similar thing happened to Jenice Lee(PRM) but without the EC passes she was allowed to enter at 9.08am. Dr Streram was also allowed to enter later, possibly without EC passes, but to late to submit the nomination papers by 10.00am. 

Dr Streram is, according to my opinion, is entitled to a new elections ...and people will choose their ADUN. Has he already filed his Election Petition? Failure would also be a betrayal of the people of that area - the electors.

As nomination started at 9am, Parti Rakyat Malaysia candidate for Teratai state seat Jenice Lee was denied entry by the police into the Pandan Indah MPAJ nomination centre, as she did not have her EC passes with her....But minutes later, an EC personnel who was informed of the matter came out to escort her in. She entered the nomination centre at 9.08am.- The Edge Markets, 28/4/2018


Now for those whose nominations were rejected on the allegation that they were 'BANKRUPT' when they claimed that they were. They MUST file an election petition, which I believe best be done within 14 days. If they were truly bankrupt as SPR says - Malaysian and party members must be apologized too by the said candidate, and the Party leaders responsible for choosing and approving candidates.

Running for ADUN without an address in the relevant State - this issue have emerged in past elections. Shocking that the political parties can make such mistakes - it goes towards the issue of competence...

PACA - A lot of people volunteered their time and energy to record all wrongdoings - have these all been reported to the SPR, Police and what I suggested earlier being SUHAKAM. Those who pretended to be some other and voted, hence depriving a legitimate voter to vote is a serious offence.

SADLY the SPR do not seem to have enforcement and prosecutorial powers - hence, the responsibility may fall to the police...but are the police and the Public Prosecutor doing this now.

What about shifting voters to other constituencies? What about removing voters from the Electoral roll? What about registering voters that do not exist...or wrongly? Well, here the guilt may lie with SPR and also their officers. Again, it may come to the police and the Public Prosecutor to act.

What about 'fake IDs' issued to some to vote in the place of another, and/or to enabled the unqualified to register and vote? Again, it may come to the police and the Public Prosecutor to act.

CLEAN ELECTIONS is a major concern of Malaysians, which could be seen in the hundreds of thousands that came out for BERSIH events.

Who wins or loses does not matter, these wrongdoings must be investigated and the guilty must be prosecuted to the full extend of the law in an open court. Internal disciplinary actions by the Commissions, Ministry and Departments is not what we want - we want a public trial. It will also deter such crimes in the future...


 


 


32  Avoidance of election on election petition(Election Offences Act 1954)

The election of a candidate at any election shall be declared to be void on an election petition on any of the following grounds only which may be proved to the satisfaction of the Election Judge:
(a) that general bribery, general treating or general intimidation have so extensively prevailed that they may be reasonably supposed to have affected the result of the election;
(b) non-compliance with the provisions of any written law relating to the conduct of any election if it appears that the election was not conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in such written law and that such non-compliance affected the result of the election;
(c) that a corrupt practice or illegal practice was committed in connection with the election by the candidate or with his knowledge or consent, or by any agent of the candidate;
(d) that the candidate personally engaged a person as his election agent, or as a canvasser or agent, knowing that such person had within seven years previous to such engagement been convicted or found guilty of a corrupt practice by a Sessions Court, or by the report of an Election Judge; or
(e) that the candidate was at the time of his election a person disqualified for election.
38  Time for presentation(Election Offences Act 1954)
(1) Every election petition shall be presented within twenty-one days of the date of publication of the result of the election in the Gazette:
Provided that-
(a) an election petition questioning the return or the election upon the ground of a corrupt practice and specifically alleging a payment of money or other act to have been made or done since the date aforesaid by the person whose election is questioned or by an agent of the person or with the privity of the person or his election agent in pursuance or in furtherance of such corrupt practice may, so far as respects such corrupt practice, be presented at any time within twenty-eight days after the date of such payment or act;
(b) an election petition questioning the return or the election upon an allegation of an illegal practice may, so far as respects such illegal practice, be presented within the time following:
(i) at any time before the expiration of fourteen days immediately after the date of the publication in the Gazette of the notice required by section 24 as to the election expenses of the person whose election is questioned;
(ii) if the election petition specifically alleges a payment of money or other act to have been made or done since the said date by the person whose election is questioned or by an agent of the person or with the privity of the person or of his election agent in pursuance or in furtherance of the illegal practice alleged in the petition, the petition may be presented at any time within twenty-eight days immediately after the date of such payment or other act.
(2) An election petition presented in due time may, for the purpose of questioning the return or the election upon an allegation of a corrupt or illegal practice, be amended with the leave of a Judge of the High Court within the time within which an election petition questioning the return or the election upon that ground may be presented.

(3) For the purposes of this section, where there is an authorized excuse for failing to make and transmit the return and statements respecting election expenses, the date of the allowance of the excuse or, if there was a failure in two or more particulars and the excuse was allowed at different times, the date of the allowance of the last excuse shall be substituted for the date of the publication of the notice mentioned in the proviso to paragraph (1)(b).

GE14: A List Of Candidates Whose Nominations Were Rejected And Why

Most of them are from Pakatan Harapan.
  • 1. PKR vice-president Tian Chua was disqualified from contesting the Batu parliamentary seat

    • Tian Chua was disqualified due to an RM2,000 fine imposed on him last month, despite the fact that the fine is below the threshold for disqualification from elected office.

      Interestingly, though, Tian Chua was allowed to contest in the 2013 general election when he faced a similar fine of RM2,000 in 2010, reported Malaysiakini.

      While he would file a legal challenge against the decision which he described as underhanded tactics to defeat PH, with him being disqualified, PH has lost Batu.
  • 2. Bersatu's Yaakob Osman was disqualified from contesting the Penaga state seat in Kepala Batas

    • Yaakob Osman was disqualified on the grounds of being bankrupt. However, the Bersatu candidate denied being bankrupt, according to The Star Online.

      "The election commission has said that there is data that I am bankrupt. We did a check last week and yesterday as well.

      "There were no issues and I have not been summoned by anyone or declared bankrupt. The election commission has decided, nothing can be done," he said.
  • 3. Bersatu's Pizi Jihat's nomination papers were rejected from contesting the seat of Bukit Pasir

    • Pizi, too, was disqualified on the grounds of being bankrupt.

      Surprisingly, though, the Bersatu candidate had already settled his bankruptcy prior to being nominated and had brought together the proof of same with him.

      While a search on the Insolvency Department's website had shown that he is not bankrupt, the returning officer said the latest check showed he was bankrupt.

      Bersatu president Muhyiddin said they will consult with their lawyers on the next step.
  • 4. Mohamad Badri Abdul Rahman from PAS was disqualified from contesting the Subang Jaya seat

    • The PAS candidate was disqualified on grounds of being bankrupt.

      With Mohamad Badri being out, the Subang Jaya seat would see a three-cornered fight between BN's Chong Ah Wat, PKR's Michelle Ng and Toh Sin Wah, Independent.
  • 5. PKR's Dr Streram Sinnasamy failed to file his nomination papers after he was denied entry into the nomination centre

    • According to a report in NST Online, Streram, along with his proposer and seconder, were denied entry as each of them lacked a pass from the Election Commission (EC).

      Reportedly, Streram and his supporters arrived at the nomination centre at about 8am and they protested against the police when the authorities prevented them from entering the centre, which caused the situation to be "a little tensed".

      With Streram, the sole challenger from Pakatan Harapan, failing to file his nomination papers, BN candidate Mohamad Hasan has won the Rantau state seat uncontested.
  • 6. PKR's Mohd Azihan Che Seman was disqualified from contesting the seat of Tawang

    • The reason for Azihan's disqualification was that his identity card address was not in Kelantan, which is a prerequisite to contest in the state seat there.
  • 7. PKR's Mohd Hafidz Rizal Amran was disqualified from contesting the seat of Kuala Balah

    • According to reports, it was on the grounds of him being bankrupt.
  • 8. Pakatan Harapan's Sivamalar Ganapathy, who was to contest the Bukit Melawati seat, was replaced

    • "Candidates contesting for a state seat must have an address within the same state but Sivamalar had a Pahang address on her MyKad," Malaysiakini reported.

      In light of which, PKR then brought in its Srikandi leader Juwariyah Zulkifli as a backup, whose candidacy was accepted. - Malaysiakini from SAYS

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