KUALA LUMPUR: All political parties must help to ensure a high voter turnout in the 15th general elections, once the automatic registration kicks in.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong (pix) acknowledged that with voters to be registered automatically soon there was bound to be a higher number of Malaysians not going to the ballot.
“What the government and the Election Commission (EC) are doing now is to educate the people. But political parties also have a role to play on this matter,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
“They should conduct roadshows to ensure that all those who are qualified to vote are aware of the recent amendment, do the necessary checks and turn up to vote come the elections,” he added.
Liew was responding to Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PH-Setiawangsa) on the worry that many voters who would be registered automatically might not be aware of this and that some were also uninterested in voting in the first place.
“I am worried because currently our voter turnout is quite high. But this (high turnout) is also largely because those registered as voters are interested in voting,” Nik Nazmi said.
“But when everyone is registered automatically, there might be quite a number who don’t bother, and this may cause a drop in the turnout.”
In the last general elections, which saw a change in federal power, the turnout stood at 82.3%. The preceding general elections in 2013, 2008 and 2003 saw turnouts of 84.8%, 76% and 73.9% respectively.
Meanwhile, Liew gave an assurance that the necessary changes to enable automatic registration would be implemented by 2021 at the latest.
