What happens if a ballot box in an Election Commission boat gets swept away by strong currents in crocodile-infested waters? Will campaigning in a constituency continue if one of the candidates dies before polling day? And who wins if two candidates contesting a seat receive the same number of votes? These are just some of the out-of-the-ordinary hypothetical scenarios that the EC has prepared for as part of its overall effort to ensure a smooth 13th general election.
Boxes fitted with floats will only be used in those parts of the interior of the two states where ballot papers from several remote and small polling streams would have to be taken to a counting centre before they can be tallied. In all other places, votes would be counted and tallied at polling streams, Abdul Aziz said.
EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said ballot boxes transported by river in the interior of Sabah and Sarawak will be fitted with floats to prevent them from getting lost en route to the counting centre. “This precaution was taken in the Tenang by-election as well as the Sarawak state polls in 2011. “We have tested the float-fitted ballot boxes by throwing them into swimming pools to ascertain that they do not sink,” he added in an interview.
Boxes fitted with floats will only be used in those parts of the interior of the two states where ballot papers from several remote and small polling streams would have to be taken to a counting centre before they can be tallied. In all other places, votes would be counted and tallied at polling streams, Abdul Aziz said.
Full Article: Pre-emptive measures to ensure smooth polls: Malaysian Election Commission.