BN lost GE14 despite attempts to influence results: Report

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) lost heavily in the 14th General Election (GE14) despite numerous attempts to influence the election results, including through bribery and gifts, according to a report by Pemantau.
The Election Observation Report on GE14, which was released today, claimed 46 cases of bribery and vote buying and 196 cases of gift giving were reported during and in the run-up to the elections on May 9, the majority of which involved BN.
"This report has presented comprehensive evidence that GE14 was neither free nor fair," the 114-page report stated.
Among the notable examples provided in the report included Senator Datuk Shahanim Mohamad Yusoff giving out envelopes with cash to voters in her constituency during a campaign event, which she claimed was part of her allocation as senator.
The report added that there were over 250 reported cases of use of government machinery and the giving out of undue government inducement, mostly by BN, with at least RM5 billion worth of taxpayers' funds either announced during campaign events or distributed after the dissolution of parliament.
"The largest payout was made by then caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak at the launch of the BN manifesto after the dissolution of parliament, with a RM3.71 billion worth of additional Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) announced.
"Unfortunately, the government and authorities made no progress in protecting the integrity of the election from bribery and corruption. There was also no attempts to curb government handouts and the use of government machinery," it said.
The report also accused key public institutions, including the Election Commission (EC), of biased behaviour and being in favour of the then BN government in order to ensure its win.
"While the results of the election saw a change of federal government for the first time, this occurred in spite of the overwhelming attempts by key public institutions to ensure a BN victory," it noted.
Meanwhile, the report also stated that GE14 results had confirmed Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PAS voters were overwhelmingly packed into excessively under-represented super-constituencies.
"Out of the 79 seats won by BN, 70 of those were from the smallest 122 seats. The seats won by PH had an average of 77,943 voters compared to 46,836 voters for seats won by BN," it said.
The report by Pemantau was jointly compiled by electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) and Pusat Komuniti Masyarakat (Komas).