In a statement, the Global Bersih chapters in France, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland said they were “exasperated” with the overseas voting process set out by the EC for the 14th general election (GE14).
“Malaysian voters in Germany and Netherlands are receiving confirmation emails from the courier service stating that the ballots will arrive at their addresses as late as May 8.
“So how does the EC expect these voters to return the ballot papers to their returning officer before 5pm on May 9? It is simply impossible.
“A ballot paper sent from Germany using an international courier service such as DHL or FedEx back to Malaysia will take 3-4 days, with the cost between €73 (RM349) and €91 (RM435),” the overseas arm of the electoral reform group said.
They added that as of today (May 3), numerous Malaysians in these countries had not received any notice whatsoever from courier service companies or from the EC to indicate that their ballots were on the way.
A Malaysian based in Geneva, Switzerland, was also said to have been advised to “be patient” when he spoke to an EC official earlier today.
“Time is running out by the minute. It is difficult for us to be patient while we are in the dark, not knowing if we will get to cast our votes at all.”
Global Bersih also called out EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah for having reportedly said on nomination day (April 28) that delays could be due to “procrastination by the voters themselves”.
“If you receive the ballot paper and keep it for seven days, and only send it at the last minute, then, of course, there will be problems.
“We think the 11 days is enough time (to post votes), as long as you don’t hold on to them for long,” he was reported to have said at a press conference last Saturday after the nomination process was completed.
Global Bersih also criticised the new requirement by the EC for a witness for postal voters, saying this information was given at the last minute and is another major obstacle for overseas voters.
“It is difficult to locate a fellow Malaysian to be a witness in smaller towns in Europe.”
The five European chapters of Bersih said the entire blame for any delay in the voting process was with the EC itself.
“The fact that the ballots are arriving in Europe as late as May 8, thereby preventing Malaysian voters in Europe to return the ballots on time, proves that the problem lies with the overseas voting system carried out by the EC and not with overseas Malaysian voters.
“In addition, we are deeply disappointed with the EC’s dissemination of information on the overseas voting procedures.
“We have received conflicting and inconsistent information from all parties involved (EC staff, returning officers and the embassies) on many matters pertaining to the overseas voting procedure, especially on the returning of the ballots,” Global Bersih said.
They added that it was the responsibility of the EC to update all the involved parties with the correct and latest information.
“The EC’s actions clearly indicate that they are not interested in enfranchising all Malaysian voters living outside the country.
“Instead, Malaysian voters in Europe are being victimised, as they are indirectly being denied their right to vote in GE14.”
For the 2013 general election, ballot papers were sent to the Malaysian diplomatic mission nearest to the voter.
The voters then marked their ballots, which were then mailed by the mission back to the EC.
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