SIBU: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) cannot be allowed to dictate the election process, as so doing tantamounts to meddling into Election Commission’s (EC) role.
PBB supreme council member Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah was reacting to news report that the opposition had resorted to blaming EC over ballot papers bearing the names of candidates who had withdrawn from contesting.
EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar reportedly said the opposition just refused to understand and chose to blame EC despite several briefings held before the April 20 nomination day.
“Pakatan leaders must be ignorant or simply chose to act stupid and ignorant. The election process has been slightly changed and all parties from both BN and Pakatan had been pre-informed of the several changes to the election process.
“Among them is after the close of nomination at 10am on Nomination Day and if the EC returning officer is satisfied that all candidates who submit their nomination papers qualify to contest then there will be an election.
“There will be no more withdrawal by candidates after that and all the candidates’ names will be in the ballot papers that are to be printed.
“Even if one of the candidates dies or announces to the world that he is withdrawing…his name will still be in the ballot papers,” Abdul Karim, who is also Assistant Minister of Youth Development and Asajaya assemblyman, said.
He recalled in previous election, all candidates had a ‘grace period’ of three days to withdraw but now that procedure had been scrapped partly because of Pakatan’s complaint that it could lead to candidates ‘selling’ themselves during those three days.
“Now, Pakatan is acting silly by blaming the EC for putting names of those withdrawing from contesting to be still in the ballot papers.
“Pakatan must know the laws and procedures of the election process and don’t act stupid!” he said.
He asked the whereabouts of their (opposition) legal panels who should be advising their leaders.
“We cannot have Pakatan dictating how the election process should be as that is the role that EC is doing and we must learn to respect and abide with EC’s role,” he pointed out.
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