The voters’ lawyer, Michelle Ng, said EC raised the preliminary objection today against the voters’ second judicial review bid to stop the 949 army men and wives, residing in an incomplete army camp, from being made Segamat voters.
“EC is saying that under Section 9A of the Elections Act, once they gazette the names in the electoral roll, the decision cannot be questioned in court any more.”
She added that the 949 people were made Segamat voters on Feb 21, the same day the Court of Appeal allowed EC’s appeal to set aside a previous High Court ruling granting leave or permission to question the electoral authority’s decision to gazette the 949 people as voters.
Ng said she argued that the EC cannot hide behind the Section 9A ouster clause provision when they have done something wrong.
“The recent decision in Indira Gandhi’s case had affirmed that courts can review decisions made by an administrative body.”
High Court judge Justice Kamaludin Md Said, who heard the arguments of the voters and EC in chambers today, fixed March 8 to decide on whether to allow the voters to challenge the EC again.
The 48 voters made their second legal challenge on Feb 26, after the appeals court denied them leave to challenge EC.
They are seeking to quash the decision made by the EC, its Johor registrar Shafie Taib and adjudicating officer Miswan Yunus to include the army men and spouses as Segamat voters.
Miswan had heard the voters’ appeals from Jan 2 to 7 during an inquiry but dismissed them later.
The 48 people also want a court declaration that the EC’s decision to include the army voters is unconstitutional.
They are also trying to stop the EC from including the names of the army personnel and their spouses in the electoral roll, pending disposal of their court case.
DAP had previously questioned the move to transfer the army men, asking if this was done to “save” the parliamentary seat from falling into the opposition’s hands in the coming general election.
In the 2013 general election, MIC president Dr S Subramaniam won the Segamat seat after defeating PKR’s Chua Jui Meng with a 1,217-vote majority.
EC wins appeal to disallow inquiry into registration of army voters
Segamat voters make new bid to remove army men from electoral roll