IDEAS was accredited by Malaysia’s Election Commission (EC) to independently observe the country’s recent general election. I am pleased to send you the report that we produced at the conclusion of our observation mission.Our mandate was to observe, record, and report events leading up to GE13, and recommend ways to improve any weaknesses found. We deployed 325 observers to 99 out of the 222 parliamentary constituencies plus 6 overseas polling centres.

We found that EC successfully ensured the overall process between nomination day and election day proceeded smoothly without any major glitches. However, when GE13 was examined was examined in its wider context – which is necessary since ‘campaigning’ has been taking place at since four years ago – we found significant problems including:

1. the media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN),
2. there were doubts about the EC’s impartiality and competency,
3. lack of trust in the integrity of the electoral roll,
4. unfair treatment towards non-BN parties by the Registrar of Societies,
5. very unequal constituency sizes,
6. lack of transparency in the financing of political parties,
7. repeated use and abuse of government machinery by BN for purposes of
campaigning,
8. exploitation of racial issues for political gain mainly by the ruling coalition.

Consequently, although the official campaign period and electoral processes may have proceeded smoothly and with minimal major issues, wider issues that are not necessarily within the EC’s purview have built up over the last few years.  These issues conspired against non-BN parties, therefore creating a very uneven field. Due to these reasons, we conclude that GE13 was only partially free and not fair.