Voters might choose not to vote or go for 'undi rosak'

SHAH ALAM - As the 15th General Election (GE15) nears, some voters would most likely choose not to come out to vote or would rather turn up and spoil their votes on polling day.

Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) chairman Thomas Fann said the logic-defying decision of caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to call for early election during the flood season was seen as an attempt to suppress their votes and it might have the opposite effect of motivating them to come out and vote.

“Nonetheless, we are unlikely to see voter turnout over the 80 per cent mark like what we had in GE13 and GE14.

“This is also due to the fact that with the infusion of new voters through Undi18 and Automatic Voters Registration, the electoral roll has increased by over 42 per cent and many are disinterested voters in the first place.

“If GE15 can achieve a 70 per cent voter turnout, it would be considered an achievement. I believe that it is achievable despite the challenges of “floods election”,” he said when contacted.

In regards to low voter turnout, Fann said a government would still be elected regardless and it would be legitimate, but it would not have a strong mandate from the majority of the people.

He reflected on the result of the Johor state election in March where voter turnout was 55 per cent and the winning coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) had 43 per cent votes which meant that it only had 23.65 per cent support from all voters in the state.

“Any government that does not have a strong mandate from the people will find it harder to implement unpopular policies that may be important for the state or country as it may face much resistance from the public.

“As such, it would rely on populist policies that may be detrimental to the state or country in the long run,” he said.

Asked on the Election Commission's (EC) effort to attract citizens to go out and vote, he said had not seen the commission making much effort to encourage people to vote in the past.

“We believe that they could do more by putting out more information and commercial on national television and radio stations to encourage a good turnout.

“Meanwhile, many non-governmental organisations like Bersih and political parties are doing their best to encourage people to vote,” he said.