EC deputy chairman Azmi Sharom said there is also an element of distrust in the postal voting system among the public, especially since it has never been utilised so widely before.
“If we do implement large-scale postal votes, will the people trust in it?
“In the US, after obtaining postal voting results, there were still allegations of attempted fraud although there was no evidence to back (such claims),” he told FMT.
Meanwhile, EC chief Abdul Ghani Salleh told FMT that large-scale postal voting cannot be done in a hurry as many things needed to be taken into consideration, including public perception.
“The people will complain, regardless of whatever that is done. So, to me, we will continue with what we have already been doing all this time,” he said.
He added that extending postal voting to all voters would also require amendments to the Federal Constitution.
Based on the EC’s website, those eligible to be postal voters include army personnel, policemen, members of the media, election officers as well as Malaysians overseas, including civil servants.
Azmi said the EC had already said it will not be extending postal voting to categories other than those already listed, despite calls from several quarters to do so.
He said the EC is having discussions with the health ministry on specific improvements that can be made to the electoral process for any election or by-election that is held during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Azmi admitted tighter SOPs for campaigning needed to be implemented, saying that the matter will be finalised once discussions are completed.
The EC has been urged repeatedly to introduce postal or absentee voting to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission, especially with the Sarawak state election and a possible general election taking place next year. This was in order to prevent another surge in Covid-19 infections like what happened after the Sabah polls.
Universiti Malaya political scientist Awang Azman Pawi agreed, saying the issues of capacity, logistics and limited time will be the EC’s biggest challenges in implementing large-scale postal voting.
He added that the issue of transparency in the postal voting process will also be a topic of contention among political parties.
“Those who lose will claim that there was electoral fraud with postal votes,” he told FMT.
He added that the main cause for concern is not the voting process but more on the nomination day and campaign period activities.
“What’s most important is that there is no compromise with SOPs at the nomination and campaigning stages. SOPs must be implemented strictly to ensure the safety of the people,” he said, adding that e-campaigning should be widely used with ceramahs and debates held virtually.