He said this was based on the current situation in which opposition parties appeared to be in conflict with each other and had differing views.

“In GE13, the opposition campaigned aggressively and went all out. They were campaigning to win the election and the people at that time were very eager to vote, including Malaysians who returned from abroad.

“At that time, opposition parties like DAP and PAS were together. PAS is a party with very staunch members, especially its grassroots, but this time it is different.

“PAS is no longer in the coalition. So they may slander (the EC) but it will not be as bad as it was in GE13,” he said when met by Bernama here yesterday.

He was asked to comment on whether the EC would face more slander in the coming general election compared to GE13, when the commission was accused of planning blackouts during the vote-counting process, as well as bringing 40,000 Bangladeshis into the country to vote.

Abdul Aziz said he strongly supported the government’s efforts to create laws to curb the spread of fake news, which he believed would be able to prevent GE14 from turning into an ugly affair.

The former chairman, who led the EC between December 2008 and January 2016, also denied allegations that the commission had acted unfairly during the general election and had tried to help the ruling party win.

“I am very confident that if voters like a certain candidate or party, they will chose the candidate or party and nothing can change their decision, including the EC,” he said.

He also corrected a misconception among the public that voters could be identified by the serial number printed on a ballot paper.

According to him, the serial number on the ballot paper actually referred to the polling centre, not the identity of the voter.

“So the secrecy of votes is very secure. It is impossible for anybody to know which candidate or party a person voted for through the ballot paper,” he said.