As of yesterday morning, 3,036 nomination forms for the 15th general election had been sold nationwide.
Of that number, 716 forms were sold in Sabah; 326 in Perak and 266 forms sold in Selangor.
Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan saw the least number of nomination forms being sold at 24. Eight parliamentary seats are up for grabs in the state.
In Perlis, 52 forms were bought, hinting at a fierce battle for only three parliamentary seats in the state.
In Sarawak, as many as 100 forms were bought, hinting that there would be no easy win in all 31 parliamentary seats in the state.
Apparently, many people are vying to be MPs. However, it is not as easy as there is a set of rules by the Election Commission (EC) which must be followed.
If you intend to enter the nomination centre, you must be a Malaysian citizen and resident, as stated in Article 47 of the Federal Constitution,at the time of nomination.
You must also be at least 18 years old on the day of nomination.
In addition, you will not be eligible to be a candidate if you are certified as mentally incompetent; a person who is bankrupt and has not been discharged by the Insolvency Department.
The candidate must not be a civil servant as well.
If a person has been nominated for a Dewan Rakyat Election or a State Legislative Assembly Election, or has been an Election Agent for a person who has been nominated, but has failed to submit a statement of election expenses as required by law in the time and manner required , then the individual is not eligible to submit the nomination form.
Those who wish to become MPs, but have been convicted of an offence by a court in the Federation (or before Malaysia Day in the areas of Sabah or Sarawak or Singapore) and sentenced to prison for a period of not less than one year or fined not less than RM2,000) and have not been pardoedn, are also not eligible to be members of the august house.
Another big condition that rejects one’s eligibility to compete is when one obtains citizenship or has exercised the citizenship rights of a foreign country or has made a declaration of allegiance to any foreign country.
If you manage to pass all these eligibility requirements, then you are actually one step away from becoming a candidate. All that’s left is for you to choose to run in the name of a party or individual — or known as an Independent candidate.
In order to make this wish come true, you need to pay a deposit. The law stipulates that a person who wants to contest in an election is required to submit a specified deposit. If the deposit money is not included, the nomination paper is considered incomplete and the Returning Officer has the right and authority not to accept the nomination paper.
The deposit for the parliamentary election is RM10,000 while for the state election, it is RM5,000.
This deposit will not be returned if the candidate fails to obtain one eight or 12.5 per cent of the total number of votes on polling day.
In addition, each candidate must also pay a deposit for election campaign materials.
If a candidate fails to submit a deposit for campaign materials, he/she is not allowed to instal or display any election campaign materials.
Those who break the rule will be convicted under Section 1954 of the Election Offences Act. They also face the risk of being jailed for not more than a year or fined up to RM3,000 or both.
The deposit payment allocated for a parliamentary election is RM5,000 while it is RM3,000 for a state election.
In addition to campaigning, a candidate is given the privilege to visit polling/counting centres, and centralised and clustered vote counting centres.
The candidate can also visit the centre for issuing, opening and counting of postal ballots, as well as the centre for the official tallying of votes.
Campaigns will start once soon as an individual is registered as a candidate. However, it is very important for candidates and their parties to inform the election enforcement authorities to ensure that the campaigns are held safely and do not cause harm.
Ideally, before filling out the nomination forms, candidates must make sure all the information is correct. Once a name is confirmed to contest, within an hour after nominations open at 8.00 am, there is no room for the candidate to withdraw.
The candidate’s name will be printed on the ballot paper, and he/she will continue to compete until the election results are announced.
In Sarawak, there was a candidate who had to announce that he was not contesting and asked the public not to vote for him when his name was already printed on the ballot paper.
Based on the number of nomination papers purchased, there are definitely many who want to try their talents and abilities in this GE.
And they must be happy because during these two weeks, they will not sleep well and have to pay for the guests who come to support them.
Be careful! No one is allowed to spend money for the purpose of bribery because it can be interpreted as political bribery.
It is hoped democracy will be fully appreciated and that all the candidates are competing because they want to serve the country, fight for the aspirations of the people and not play around.
Previously, there were candidates who became invisible as soon as they were announced as winners. Don’t be like them.
