Malaysia opposition cries foul in Anwar by-election

Videos
Photos

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-25 14:58

PERMATANG PAUH -- Malaysia's opposition alliance, which backs Anwar Ibrahim in his bid to return to parliament, charged on Monday that its supporters had been culled from voter lists ahead of a crucial by-election.

As tensions mounted in the usually sleepy northern Malaysian enclave of Permatang Pauh, ahead what is being labelled as the "most tense" by-election ever in the country on Tuesday, police sent in reinforcements to prevent clashes between rival groups.

Tuesday's vote pits Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who is now de facto leader of the opposition against the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the main government party which nurtured him until he was convicted of corruption and sodomy in the 1990s.

Tensions have mounted with the nightly airing on television of testimony by a 23-year old former male aide who says he was sodomised by Anwar, who is due to appear in court over the issue on September 10.

"The voter list is questionable. There are a lot unaccounted for," Fuziah Salleh, a leader of Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat, told reporters on Monday.

She was earlier quoted in the Star newspaper as saying that 949 names were missing from the voters list from the one that was used in the March 8 general elections.

Turnout will be key in establishing Anwar's credentials to lead a three-party opposition coalition in parliament and for him to be able to deliver a promise to beat the government in a confidence vote he has said he will call on September 16.

Political analysts say Anwar has to at least match the 13,388 majority his wife won when she contested the seats in March's general election.

To be a credible leader, he needs a majority of at least 15,000-20,000.

Malaysia's election commission hotly denied the charges that it had rigged the voter list.

"This is impossible. This is a lie. We don't have powers to remove (the names), under the constitution we don't have such powers. It is impossible to have phantom voters," said Election Commission secretary Kamarulzaman Mohamad Noor.

Previous page 1 2 Next Page