BN will win two-thirds majority with low voter turnout, says analyst
Advertisement
LOW voter turnout of 70% will hand Barisan Nasional (BN) a two-thirds majority in the impending general election, political analyst Wong Chin Huat said.
Wong of the Penang Institute said the ruling coalition’s chances of securing a two-thirds majority will depend on voter turnout.
“If voter turnout is high, it is usually because people are angry and this would cost the government and also cause the failure of gerrymandering,” he said during a forum on electoral redelineation at Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) in Shah Alam today.
Voter turnout in the last national polls in 2013 was nearly 85%. BN failed to regain its two-thirds majority in Parliament and obtained 47% of the popular vote, while the then opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat won 52%.
Voter turnout in previous elections have generally been over 70%.
Wong’s analysis comes as calls to boycott or cast spoilt votes in the 14th general election circulate on social media.
Those holding such sentiments have said they are unhappy with the lack of choices while some are upset at the opposition for naming Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister candidate despite his chequered tenure.
Wong said many people did not realise the consequences if they failed to vote.
He said if BN won back a two-thirds majority, they would have the ability to amend the constitution to add new seats in Parliament, which will trigger a new round of redelineation of electoral boundaries.
The federal constitution provides that a redelineation exercise should be conducted at least every eight years.
Wong said that while the current redelineation did not add electoral seats, an exercise that did must be completed within two years, it would open the doors for the EC to do so.
“However, if more seats are added in parliament or in state assemblies, therefore redelineation must be completed within two years,” he said.