DAP Selangor to hold emergency meeting over EC's redelineation plans

Its chairman Tony Pua in a statement on Monday said the exercise is seen as an attempt to gerrymander a victory for UMNO in GE14.

"If in 2013, Barisan Nasional received less than 48% of the popular vote then the only logical conclusion will be that the ruling coalition will receive lesser votes in the 14th General Election.

"Hence the trump card for BN was to redraw the election constituency boundaries to the extent that BN will be assured of a thumping victory even if their popular votes continue to decline," said Pua who is also Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

He said the simplest way of doing so would be to bundle opposition inclined voters into super-constituencies with more than 100,000 voters while breaking up hard-core pro-ruling party supporters into smaller multiple constituencies.

"The clearest example was in the seat of Petaling Jaya Utara which was enlarged from 85,401 voters to 150,439 voters. The newly enlarged constituency, renamed “Damansara” is projected to achieve a super-majority of 73,533 based on the 2013 voting records, as opposed to the actual majority of 44,672.

"As a result, the neighbouring constituency of Subang (renamed “Sungai Buloh”) becomes a very marginal seat with only a projected 3,037 majority as opposed on 26,719 achieved in 2013," he said.

Regarding the meeting, Pua said DAP Selangor will discuss the findings of their studies and formulate the next steps to ensure the coalition's victory in Selangor.

On Sept 14, the EC announced a plan to carry out a review of the redelineation of electoral boundaries for parliamentary and state seats in the peninsula and Sabah beginning Thursday.

EC secretary Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh said the review would be conducted based on the provisions of Clause (2) Article 113 of the Federal Constitution and amendments to Clause (2) Article 14 of the Sabah State Constitution, which was gazetted on Aug 18.

However, the EC has dismissed allegations that the redelineation of electoral boundaries in peninsular Malaysia and Sabah favoured certain quarters.