Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP Tanjong 3 Committee Meeting on the Voters’ Registration Exercise held at Penang DAP hqrs at Lorong Kinta, Penang on Thursday, 23rd June 1994 at 8 pm
DAP calls for the extension of the 21-day voters’ registration exercise next month to the normal 42-day period to ensure maximum registration of eligible voters
The Election Commission should extend the 21-day voters’ registration exercise next month to the normal 42-day period to ensure maximum registration of eligible voters on the electoral register.
The shortening of the 42-day voters’ registration exercise is most surprising arid inexplicable, when there had been calls for round-the-year registration – a proposal which had been repeatedly studied by the Election Commission over the years but which it had not been able to put into practice.
Suddenly, instead of lengthening the period of voters’ registration exercise from the normal 42-day period, it has been shortened to 21 days as happened just before the 1990 general elections.
It is this 1990 precedent which raises question as to the political background and motivation of the decision by the Election Commission to conduct a 21-day voters’ registration exercise.
The Election Commission may give answers for having 21-day voters registration exercise:
* Firstly, that it proposes to conduct two voters’ registration exercises a year lasting for 21 days each – which will bring the total number of days of registration a year also to 42 days; and
* Secondly, that from previous experience, response from eligible voters were very poor in the first three weeks and that they only rush to register in the last three weeks.
I find both explanations unacceptable. The first explanation was used in February 1990 when I queried why the Election Commission was giving 21 days for voters’ registration for the year when in the past, 42 days had been set aside for every year.
Although it was also explained at the time that the Election Commission intended to conduct a second 21-day voters’ registration exercise later in 1990, this was never done.
It is understandable why in 1990, the Election Commission did not conduct a second 21-day voters’ registration exercise, for it would be a stupid decision as nobody would register when general elections had just been held!
The same applies for the voters’ registration exercise this year! How can the Election Commission conduct a second 21-day voters’ registration exercise before December this year, when it is not expected to get the revised electoral roll to be ready?
Secondly, the poor response to voters’ registration would normally be during the period just after general elections, because the people felt that there was no point of registering when general elections were far away.
Another reason for the poor response in the first part of the 42-day voters’ registration exercise was because poor publicity and unsatisfactory registration arrangements as many people would not know about the exercise until the second or third week.
Everybody expects the general elections to be held shortly. If general elections are held in the next few months, then those who register as voters next month would not be able to cast their votes as the Election Commission would not be able to come out with the new electoral register until end of the year or early next year.
However, if general elections are held early next year, those who register next month would be able to cast their vote. It is therefore most important that the Election Commission should provide the full 42 days in the voters’ registration exercise beginning on July 11 to ensure maximum registration of eligible voters so that they could cast their votes in general elections if held early next year.
This would be the normal reasoning for the Election Commission on the eve of general elections – unless the Election Commission has received a political directive from the Government or UMNO to conduct only a 21-day voters’ registration exercise.
The Election Commission should therefore review its decision to conduct the voters’ registration exercise, from July 11 to 31, and extend it to August 21!
DAP takes a very serious view of the voters’ registration exercise next year as the possibility of general elections next year cannot be completely ruled out – although the likelihood of general elections being held in the next few months remain high.
For this reason, the DAP has directed all DAP Members of Parliament arid State Assemblymen to spearhead the voters’ registration exercise not only in their respective constituencies , but also in their respective states as well.