PETALING JAYA: The Election Commission (EC) should have informed stakeholders about the implementation of the Optical Character Recognition Voter Attendance (OCR-VA) system, says PKR secretary-general Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh.
“I am of the view that the issue raised by PKR vice-president and Negri Sembilan state election candidate for the Linggi state constituency, Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, regarding the implementation of the OCR-VA system should indeed have been communicated to all relevant stakeholders well in advance,” she said in a Facebook post on Saturday (Aug 1).
"This is not about questioning the role of the EC, but about ensuring transparency and accountability in the electoral process,” she added.
The Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister said any new systems should not be introduced without explaining its implementation, scope of use and operating procedures to candidates and other relevant parties.
“After all, an election is not the place to experiment with new procedures. Any changes introduced without proper communication and engagement with all stakeholders risk creating confusion and raising questions that could otherwise have been avoided,” she said.
"I believe the EC's efforts are intended solely to improve the electoral process. However, the integrity of an election depends not only on the technology employed, but also on the level of transparency, preparedness and confidence that all stakeholders have in the process.
"For that reason, early notification and stakeholder engagement are not merely best practice but an essential requirement to ensure that the nation's democratic process is conducted smoothly and commands the confidence of all parties,” she added.
Earlier, Aminuddin had reportedly raised concerns over the implementation of the system at only one polling station.
The caretaker Mentri Besar and Pakatan Harapan candidate for Linggi said the matter should have been discussed with the candidates beforehand.
