High Court to hear application for judicial review to declare proposed delineation of state seats null and void
KUCHING: The Kuching High Court has set February 2 to hear a landmark case on an application for judicial review to declare the Election Commission’s (EC) proposed delineation plan null and void filed by two voters yesterday morning.
There has been no precedence for such a case in the state and this raises the question of whether there is any law that is applicable to judge the case.
State Legal Counsel Datuk JC Fong when contacted said since the case has been filed in court, discussion on its merits might offend the sub-judice rule.
However, he commented that it has been an unusual and unprecedented move to challenge the proposal and recommendation by the EC for review of the state’s electoral constituencies in Sarawak.
“The delineation exercise is only at the inquiry stage. EC has invited interested parties to make objections to the proposed redelineation of the electoral boundaries.
“Objections have been received and the EC has yet to hear representations from the objectors and make its report to Parliament,” Fong told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Fong expressed surprise that other directly affected or interested parties like the State Assembly which passed the law to increase the number of assemblymen and hence the number of state seats, and the state government which has a constitutional right to raise objection to the EC’s proposal were not made parties to the judicial review application.
Meanwhile, state Election Commission director Datu Takun Sunggah when contacted declined to make any comments for the timebeing.
Speaking at a press conference here yesterday afternoon, state Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice chairman See Chee How said he and Paul Baya from Baram were the plaintiffs and the EC, respondent.
They are seeking a court order that the publication and notification of the EC on the delineation was not compliant with the provisions contained in the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution and therefore null and void.
The application also stated there was a serious and considerable lack of detailed particulars of the proposed recommendations and the draft Constituencies Plan which are open for inspection from Jan 5 until Feb 4 this year.
See added that PKR was seeking a mandatory order directing the EC to republish a notice of its proposed recommendations to review the division of the State of Sarawak into constituencies for the purpose of elections to the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly in full compliance with the provisions contained in the 13th Schedule.
He said the respondent had not published sufficiently the notice to the affected constituencies.
“The EC had only published the notice in the New Sarawak Tribune and Utusan Sarawak – which are sister papers – that has limited circulation in Sarawak, and we have affidavits evidence filed to show that these papers have no circulation in various rural centres whose voters are affected.”
“We understand, from our party leaders and members in Sabah, that the EC had published the notice in The Borneo Post but that of the Sabah edition. If it is not ignorance of the EC, there is certainly negligence or mistake on their part,” he said.
The PKR leader also pointed out that the EC did not publish or made available at the centres displaying the proposed recommendations, an electoral roll for the affected voters to check and ascertain whether they are affected by the review exercise.
To obtain a copy of the electoral roll, a voter will have to pay RM4531.20 to get a compact disc containing the roll.
“The electoral roll in the disc, said to be one used for the delimitation and review exercise contains a list of 1,111,939 voters. However, the purported detailed particulars of the proposed recommendations published by the EC show that there are 1,109,134. There is a difference of 2,259 voters.”
See, who is the State Assemblyman for Batu Lintang, cited his on constituency as an example where there is voter discrepancy in the proposed delineation.
“In the case of Batu Lintang, while the electoral roll shows that there are 1,675 voters in the polling district of RPR Batu Kawah, the EC proposal is to move this polling district to Batu Kawa.”
“Then it appears in Batu Kawah constituency that there are only 204 voters in the RPR Batu Kawah pollng district? Where are the other 1,471 voters? Similarly, the “Nanas-Pisang’ polling district is proposed to be moved to Batu Kawah, and 965 voters are missing?”
See also questioned the subdivision of Mamboing constituency and Bengoh in the delineation proposal.
He concluded there are clear and obvious evidence of malaportionment and gerrymandering in the proposed delineation of the state’s seats.