KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 ― Electoral watchdog Bersih today announced former United Nations Special Representative Yash Pal Ghai as the head of its six-member People’s Tribunal to investigate claims of electoral fraud during Election 2013.

The tribunal was set up the group following widespread allegations of fraud and irregularities during the May 5 general election and began soliciting testimony from the public last week.

Irene said Six renowned individuals, three from overseas and three from Malaysia, will form the members of the tribunal to preside over the enquiry proceedings and deliver their findings.

“Six renowned individuals, three from overseas and three from Malaysia, will form the members of the tribunal to preside over the enquiry proceedings and deliver their findings,” Bersih organising committee member Irene Fernandez said at a press conference.

Aside from constitutional lawyer Ghai from Kenya, the tribunal includes former Indonesian Election Commission deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) president Kraisak Choonhavan.

The Malaysian members are prominent lawyer Datuk Azzat Kamaludin, University of Malaya associate senior fellow Mavis Puthucheary and Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, the general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM).

“Members of the tribunal consist of eminent and respected individuals both from overseas and from Malaysia who all share a strong commitment to human rights and the rule of law,” Bersih co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said after the six were introduced.

The tribunal was originally announced as a five-member panel, but Bersih organising committee member Ivy Josiah told The Malay Mail Online there were now six was because they wanted greater diversity on-board, adding that more may be added in the future.

Hearings for the tribunal will be conducted across five days, starting September 18.

The presentation of the evidence will be done by a legal team of 30 lawyers led Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar, University of Malaya’s law professor and chief prosecutor of the international Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal.

“We are addressing the whole general election in a holistic manner which will include the system, the institution, the weaknesses in the law as well as the violations of the rights of voters,” Fernandez said.

The panel noted that they are still gathering evidence from voters over incidents of alleged fraud during the May 5 polls.

Although it has no legal powers or authority, Ambiga previously explained that the tribunal will act as a moral force to shed light on the alleged fraud during Election 2013.

The Election Commission (EC), among others, has criticised it as having no basis under Malaysian law.

During the May 5 general election, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) managed to retain power despite polling fewer votes than the informal Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition pact.