The Parliament will be dissolved on Saturday (April 7) with Malaysians eagerly awaiting the day when they get to cast their votes to elect a government. But what happens in between? Here’s a step-by-step guide to what takes place within that period.
WRIT AND NOTICE OF ELECTION
As soon as the Dewan Rakyat is dissolved, the Election Commission (EC) issues a writ to the returning officers of the various constituencies authorising them to conduct elections in their respective areas. At the same time, a notice of election is posted in various places for public viewing. This notice contains the nomination date and the dates for early voting and regular voting.
NOMINATION DAY
A date is also set for candidates to present nomination papers to their respective returning officers. They must do so between 9am and 10am on nomination day.
Every candidate must pay a deposit of RM10,000 for a parliamentary seat or RM5,000 for a state seat. The deposit is forfeited by the EC if a candidate fails to garner one eighth of the total number of votes cast in the constituency he/she is contesting.
The returning officers must ensure that nomination forms are complete and that candidates are eligible to contest. Candidate are disqualified if they are adjudged to be a bankrupt, is of unsound mind or not a citizen of Malaysia. If only one candidate is eligible to contest in a constituency on nomination day, the returning officer will declare the sole candidate as having won the seat uncontested.
If there are any objections on other candidates on grounds of their failure to fulfil the eligibility criteria, it must be raised during the nomination process. Beyond this period, any objections will be rejected.
The EC also forbids candidates from withdrawing from his contest once their nominations are accepted. Previously, candidates were allowed to pull out from contesting within three days after nomination day.
The returning officer will announce the names of the eligible candidates after 10am.
THE CAMPAIGN PERIOD
Election campaigning begins as soon as the nomination process is complete and ends at midnight before polling day. A candidate for Parliament may spend a maximum of RM200,000 on campaigning and a state assembly candidate is allowed up to RM100,000.
A task force set up by the EC will monitor the conduct of campaigns to ensure that candidates comply with the rules. It can, for instance, remove campaign materials that do not comply with the law and stop illegal forums with police help.
ADVANCE / POSTAL VOTING
Advance voting on designated days before the actual election day allows police and military personnel to cast their ballots at their respective police stations and military camps.
The ballot boxes will be locked away in secure locations until the polling day proper, when they will be tallied with the regular votes.
Postal voting is where absent voters who are unable to come in person to vote, become advance voters by casting their ballots through the post. All absent voters are by default advance voters and those unable to come in person to vote should submit their application to vote by post to their respective Returning Officers. Those eligible for advance voting are members of the Election Commission panel, election officials and staff. It also includes any category approved by the EC as being eligible to vote by post through a gazette such as those serving in the media.
All those allowed to vote by post will receive their ballot papers early, as soon as they are printed. Postal voters are required to return the marked ballot papers to the Office of the Returning Officer by 5pm on polling day.
Overseas voters are divided into two sub-categories, namely who are absent abroad but they do not need approval for postal voting, and Malaysian citizens residing overseas who have registered as voters who must apply for postal voting.
POLLING DAY
The process will kick-off with the EC officer handing out ballot papers. The officer will first check a voter’s identity card against the list of registered voters at the station and then examine the index finger of the voter’s left hand to ensure that it has not been marked by indelible ink.
A second officer will then mark the voters’ left index finger. A third officer will tick off the voter’s name on the list and hand the voter the ballot papers – one for the voter to choose the member of parliament and the other for the voter to elect the state assembly representative.
The voter will proceed to the voting booth, make a choices and then deposit the ballots in the appropriate boxes. The entire process will be observed by election officials and the agents of contesting candidates.
The polling centres will close at 5pm.
BALLOT COUNTING
Once polling closes, the presiding officer will tally the ballots. The officer will ensure that the number of ballot papers received by the station at the beginning of the day equals the sum of papers given to voters and the number unused.
Ballots with ambiguous and unclear markings will be set aside. After the other votes are counted, the officers will go through the ambiguous votes to determine if they can be accepted. Forms showing the tally of ballots will be brought to the vote-tallying centre, where the returning officer will announce the result for each polling station.