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Crying foul, Anwar disputes GE13 results

GE13 an urban, not Chinese swing, say analysts

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

PETALING JAYA, May 6 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he will not accept the Election 2013 result, accusing the Elections Commission (EC) of rigging the polls to give Barisan Nasional (BN) victory.

As results streamed in, the PKR de facto leader said Pakatan Rakyat will not recognise the legitimacy of the outcome, claiming that several hotly-contested seats were marred by allegations of widespread fraud.

“As of now we are not accepting the results,” the visibly upset Anwar told a press conference packed with supporters, local and international pressmen.

“Many of the seats they have announced, we are contesting (the results) and they have not responded to our allegations,” he said.

The opposition leader added that PR would only accept yesterday’s results if the EC provides a satisfactory explanation to the complaints.

Anwar had earlier declared an early victory for PR and warned against attempts to hijack the results, as results began streaming in.

The prime minister-hopeful made the declaration on his Twitter account at 7pm yesterday, just two hours after counting started at tallying centres nationwide.

PKR raised suspicion of electoral fraud following reports of the early vote counts in several key constituencies — including Lembah Pantai, Lumut and Teluk Kemang — which it alleged were overly low and “discomforting”.

In a statement here, the party’s communications bureau noted that these seats include high numbers of military voters who had cast their votes via advanced voting earlier this week on April 30.

There were also complaints against the indelible ink used in Sunday’s polls and claims that security forces were helping transport phantom voters of foreign nationalities to vote in key constituencies, including Anwar’s Permatang Pauh federal seat.

The opposition chief said his coalition had gathered a body of evidence to support its allegations, including video evidence. Two of these, which were recordings of PR workers apprehending foreign nationals near polling centres, were showed to the media.

“The EC has been very dismissive,” the PKR de facto leader said in describing his frustration with the polls regulator’s inaction despite widespread complaints of electoral fraud.

“And now we found thousands of foreign nationals, phantom voters in a matter of hours… even in my constituency,” he said.

The EC has denied the allegations while some BN leaders claimed the accusations were made up to justify PR’s plans to subvert the election outcome through street protests.

Anwar, however, said the coalition had told its supporters to remain calm but stressed that they were “loudly” protesting against the purported irregularities found in this year’s elections.

“We would not do anything that is instigative,” he said.