PERMATANG PAUH, May 7 — DAP’s Steven Sim claimed today that the Permatang Pauh by-election was marred with electoral fraud, saying there were two cases of phantom voters.
According to the Bukit Mertajam MP, two voters told him that someone had cast ballots using their names when they went to a polling centre here on polling day today.
“We discovered Madam Tan claimed this morning that her voting status, when she went in to see SPR, they said she already voted, her status was she voted already,” Sim told reporters, using the Malay acronym for the Election Commission.
“SPR also wanted to put the black ink on her finger even though she insists that she did not vote,” he added.
Sim said the woman named Tan Soo Eng told him that she had been voting at SRJK Jit Sin A&B for over 30 years, but discovered today that someone had voted using her IC number.
He said Tan was later allowed to leave without having to mark her finger with indelible ink.
“This is conclusive evidence that there ate phantom voters in Permatang Pauh,” Sim added.
Sim said Pakatan Rakyat has received “numerous” reports of names being removed from the electoral roll and of voters being transferred to other polling stations or other constituencies.
He also questioned why roadworks are being done today on a working day, saying that it had caused traffic congestion and turned voters away from casting their ballots.
“This is obviously a tactic to stop our voters from coming to vote ― why choose today to do road work, why choose lunch time and why choose roads leading to polling centres?” said Sim.
Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof acknowledged cases where people used other voters’ identity cards to cast their ballots in the Permatang Pauh by-election, but brushed it off as a “not serious” matter.
He told a press conference that there was likely only less than 10 cases for more than 70,000 voters and as such, it would not invalidate election results.
