IPOH, March 22 – The Election Commission (EC) has rejected claims by some quarters that it can identify candidates picked by voters in the 13th general election. Its deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar(Pic) assured that the vote of each voter is a secret.
“EC clerks at polling centres are disallowed from writing down numbers or anything. This is the law,” he told reporters after briefing election returning officers, enforcement chiefs and the Perak police chief, here today.
Wan Ahmad said the clerk will check the name and confirm that the individual is a voter before staining the finger with ink and giving the ballot paper.
“Each book has 50 ballot papers and they will be given by sequence. Voters cannot pick the ballot papers as it is against the law and regulation.
“The ballot papers have serial numbers. For example, the serial number 100 is unique and is used for a specific polling stream.
“This is to prevent voters from one stream to take the ballot papers and cast votes at another stream.”
Wan Ahmad stressed that nobody will know the candidates chosen by the voters.
“Voters can come to the polling centres at anytime as they are open from 8am to 5pm on polling day.
“As such, there is no way of matching the voters with the ballot papers.”
He advised political parties and non-governmental organisations (NGO) not to confuse voters by spreading false information.
BERNAMA
