Elections Always Free And Fair, Says Pak Lah. Is This True?

The Barisan Nasional government wants to ensure that its election victory is credible and that elections are run democratically and fairly, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Tuesday.

Dismissing claims that elections in the country were rigged, Abdullah said polls in Malaysia had always been fair and clean. He said voters were free to elect the party of their choice and they were the ones who determined the party that would form the Government.

“As the head of a government and the leader of a coalition party, I will definitely want our win to be a credible one, a victory that is secured because the people voted us in,” the Prime Minister said at the Asean summit here yesterday.

Abdullah was commenting on Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman challenging his detractors to show evidence of election rigging.

“At one time Gerakan, when it was in the Opposition, won in Penang but after that the party joined Barisan. Barisan lost Terengganu in 1999 but PAS lost the state in 2004.

“That means the people are free to determine which party they want.” (The Star)

***** The PM seems confident that elections are fair but the opposition knows otherwise. What Pak Lah conveniently avoided mentioning was the gross misuse of government facilities and personnel during election campaigns, including monopolising the mainstream media to the total exclusion of the opposition. Let us also not forget the bountiful largesse so generously dished out by the government before each election.

And to think that we still have not even mentioned about the 'flexibility' of postal votes. Now do you agree that our elections are fair and free?
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