Thousands of Malaysians, dressed in mourning black, have gathered to denounce elections which they claim were stolen through fraud by the coalition that has ruled for 56 years.
Malaysia’s opposition leader is heading the demonstration against alleged electoral fraud in Sunday’s election.
Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, or People’s Pact, called for support from people after he lost the race to become prime minister.
The gathering is being held in a stadium outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, with protesters spilling out of the stands and onto the football field.
“We have picked a stadium to allow our supporters to gather so that Anwar can explain the irregularities in the election and how he plans to move forward,” said Tian Chua, vice president of the Pakatan Rakyat, adding that the assembly posed no security threat. Previous election reform protests have ended in wild scenes, with police using tear gas and water cannon. Police had earlier threatened to arrest participants in Wednesday night’s rally.
But with tension high over the country’s closest-ever election result, police backed off and a festive atmosphere prevailed as rally-goers waved opposition party flags and blared vuvuzela horns. “I think they should redo the election,” said university student Tan Han Hui. “I’m here to support democracy. I feel the election is so unfair and there are so many dirty tricks.”
Electoral fraud allegations
Anwar has called for a “fierce” campaign for electoral reform and said the opposition would soon produce evidence backing its claims that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government committed fraud.
Najib, who was sworn in on Monday after his Barisan Nasional, or National Front, coalition, insisted the polls were totally free and fair. A joint report released on Wednesday by two independent election watchdogs disputed that claim, saying the elections were marred by bias and irregularities that added up to “serious flaws” in the electoral system. The report by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) cited continued questions over the integrity of the electoral roll. The election was “only partially free and not fair,” it said.
Lost chance
The vote was touted as the first in the country’s history in which the opposition had a chance to unseat the ruling coalition, which has held a tight grip on power since independence in 1957. Barisan retained a firm majority in parliament despite winning less than half of the popular vote, a factor partly blamed on self- serving gerrymandering and redistricting by Barisan over the years.
Anwar, who has battled the government ever since he was ousted from its top ranks in 1998 and jailed for six years on disputed sex charges, has said the election was stolen via “unprecedented electoral fraud”. Voters across the country complained over the ease with which the indelible ink was removed from their hands, while videos, pictures and first-hand accounts of purportedly foreign “voters” being confronted by angry citizens also went viral. A Malaysian government spokesperson said that Wednesday’s planned protest “is calculated to create unrest.”