Its executive director, Eric Paulsen, said the move by the attorney-general would reassure the electorate that the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government and the EC are not “bedfellows”.

He claimed it would impress on the people that there would not be a repeat of the “transgressions” seen under the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.

He said the previous practice of the EC obtaining legal representation from the AG, who acted as the chief legal adviser to the government, was untenable.

It ran contrary to the doctrine of separation of powers and the essential role that the EC must enjoy public confidence.

“As an independent body established by the Federal Constitution, the EC must at all times act or be seen to act independently, fairly and free from bias.”

Paulsen said prior to the general election, the notion that EC was serving the interests of the then BN government was reinforced when the AGC represented it against legal challenges over its controversial redelineation report.

“Blatant instances of gerrymandering and malapportionment in favour of the Barisan Nasional government triggered multiple legal challenges by dissatisfied stakeholders, including voters, MPs, local councils and even the Selangor state, all of which were unsuccessful.”

He said if the AGC was called to act as counsel for the EC in election petitions filed by candidates from PH, which took over the government in the polls, it would cause a severe conflict of interest.

“Likewise, if election petitions were filed by BN or other opposition candidates, it could be argued that the AGC would be biased due to their political affiliation with the government of the day,” he said.

Thomas had said that the EC must appoint members of the Malaysian Bar to represent it in the cases.

He said the Federal Constitution expressly stated that the EC chairman must enjoy public confidence and likewise the EC itself.

“As the neutral arbiter in the conduct of elections, the EC should not be represented by members of this Chambers because of any potential conflict of interest and the perception that justice must be seen to be done.”

Paulsen said public confidence and trust must be restored in all public institutions, including the EC, in the effort to restore democracy in the country.

“The public must be able to believe that the body responsible for administrating elections is above partisan politics.

“With the AG a political appointee of the ruling government, it would be prudent for the EC to seek legal representation from private lawyers,” he said.