Wednesday, March 24, 2010

malaysiakini and the Latest on LOCAL ELECTIONS

The decision of the Elections Commission is not unexpected as reported in malaysiakini's feature EC can't hold local polls for Penang, S'gor.
We all know that the PM too was not keen on such a rudimentary right of citizens as the opposition votes could translate into 50% of all council seats and more transparency in local governments - that would make a serious dent into the BN advantage for the next general elections.
So what should the states like Penang and Selangor do?
The Elections Commission does not hold the exclusive right to hold elections and since they claim they do not have the authority, it is up to the state governments to pass laws on how the local elections can be conducted.
Holding elections is such a fundamental activity - we elect club officials, sports officials and even school cadets. The basic requirement is that the body conducting the elections must have the requisite authority and I suggest the state government can pass rules and regulations to conduct local elections.
Let us give back democracy to the people.

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