The Malaysian Insight

MORE polling and counting agents (Pacas) are needed in the general election due to the exponential increase in the number of voters, potential candidates from several political parties said.

Almost eight million new voters are expected to be eligible to vote this time, in addition to the 14.9 million voters in the last general election, after the government passed the automatic voter registration and lowered the voting age to 18.

Incumbent Subang MP Wong Chen said the number of voters in his area has now increased to 230,000 against 180,000 in 2018.

“I expect there to be 49 polling stations, the same number as in 2018.

“But the voter count has gone up and each polling station may now have up to 10 channels.

“Therefore, I need at least 500 polling and counting agents,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The Election Commission is expected to announce the dates for nominations and polling later today.

According to Wong Chen, Pacas play an important role during the general election and because of that every candidate needs to prepare enough agents to prevent electoral fraud from taking place.

Pacas are appointed in accordance with section 14 of the Electoral Offences Act 1954.

Polling station agents are in charge of monitoring the election process while counting agents take care of vote counting to confirm that the entire election process runs smoothly without fraud or irregularities.

Wong, who is also a member of PKR’s central leadership council, said in the Paca training session, each participant was given an explanation about the voting process and how to distinguish valid and invalid votes.

“Participants were also trained on how to fill in the vote count form in addition to identifying anything unusual or awkward during the voting process.

“The training session will last for an hour and practical training is also given in the same session,” he said.

He said to date, a total of 120 Paca volunteers have been trained to serve in the Subang parliamentary constituency.

Meanwhile, DAP’s Tan Kok Wai, who is expected to defend his Cheras parliamentary seat, said he needs more Pacas in the coming polls as opposed to the last election due to the increase in new voters.

“I used social media to recruit the agents and 600 Pacas are needed for my parliamentary seat.”

Several potential candidates from various parties have used social media to look for volunteers to serve as Pacas in the general election.

Ayuh Malaysia, led by PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, has also been organising on-site and online Paca training for the past few weeks.

Muda, which has formed an electoral pact with Pakatan Harapan, has also been recruiting volunteers.

In an announcement, Muda said the preparation for the election has to start now.

“We have to act now. Come register to become our coordinator and Paca training session,” the post said. – October 20, 2022.