Bersih 2.0 is organising a petition campaign calling for all Election Commission (EC) members to step down, claiming they had failed to conduct a free and fair general election.
Newly-minted steering committee chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said they are targeting January to send the petition to the King.
She claimed the EC had failed to clean up the electoral roll despite clear evidence of irregularities and had failed to act impartially.
"We are appealing for all commissioners to step down immediately and for the delineation exercise to be halted until new EC members are appointed.
"We also want the electoral roll to be cleaned up and for the community to play a part in the process," she said after Bersih concluded its elections to choose their new committee at the PJ Community Library here Saturday.
The petition will be uploaded online, but due to the lack of time, Bersih is seeking the support of non-governmental organisations rather than individuals.
Chin said election commissioners are appointed by the King and their tenure ends on Dec 31.
"We want the King and the Council of Rulers to consider our demands - which does not just come from Bersih, but from the people as well," she said.
She said Bersih had always suggested that members of civil society and former judges to be appointed as election commissioners, while civil servants should be excluded.
Chin did not rule out the possibility of Bersih 4.0 if their concerns were ignored, but said it was any discussions on it were premature as they had not even submitted the petition yet.
Former Bersih co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said the recent admission by former EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman that entrenching a particular race was one of the criteria used for delineation was a serious one.
She pointed out that recently-retired deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar did not deny this when confronted with the statement.
"He merely said he carried out orders. We are very concerned and that is why this petition is critical," she said.
Author/Autor:Neville Spykerman
Source/Fuente:http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/11/30/Bersih-EC-resignation.aspx
