your say 'Why bother telling us what you can't do. Tell us what needs to be done and should have been done now to ensure free and fair elections.'

Ong : EC deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar forgot to tell us that this "management body" is 100 percent responsible for 'managing' the gargantuan scale of gerrymandering that manipulates the parliamentary constituency boundaries in such a way that in the 2008 general election, BN won Putrajaya (a seat with 6,608 registered voters) and Lenggong (23,223 registered voters), whereas Pakatan Rakyat won Kapar (112,224 registered voters) and Serdang (94,877 registered voters).

The EC ‘management body' has managed our election process in such a way that one vote in Putrajaya is worth the same as 17 votes in Kapar.

Onyourtoes: I do not want to insult Wan Ahmad, but who is he? He may be the deputy chairperson of EC, but what authority or mandate does he have? Why is the EC chairperson not even at the panel discussion?

And if the EC does not have the power, who then has the authority in this country? What kind of argument is that when he said only the police and the AG have the authority? If this is the case, why have so many constitutional institutions to carry out different functions and responsibilities in the country?

Just ask the police and the AG to organise the elections, or better still ask the army, I am sure they have lots of power.

Blogsmith: If the EC is a toothless tiger, it is better for its chairperson and deputy chairperson to resign rather than lending their names to a charade.

Not Confused: There is that phrase again - "confuse the public". These brainless idiots continue to patronise us all.

In other countries, public TV and radio stations are obliged to provide equal air-time to all political parties (albeit often scaled to the size of the party concerned). There is no suggestion that the public would be "confused" being confronted with alternative manifestos and arguments.

It seems that this "confusion" phenomenon is peculiar to Malaysia, where the rakyat's brains cannot handle a mix of views and facts. Maybe this is a result of the inferior output of the country's universities?

Or is it just that the ruling regime only wants its views propagated and that any opposition or critic should be silenced permanently?

Dreamwave: Democracy is about choice and the freedom to exercise that choice. The EC role is to aid the rakyat in making an "informed decision" by allowing information to flow, regardless whether it is the government's or opposition.

Choice/s are the bedrock of democracy. It strengthens, not weaken it. Wan Ahmad says when the media space is opened "it will be abused to confuse the public". The rakyat is confronted with this phenomenon every day - what car to buy, what colour to chose, which company to join, etc.

What helps is more information, not less or no information. So Wan Ahmad and the EC should not belittle the rakyat that they will be confused.

As for "abuse", we have laws to deal with that. And by that, I mean laws other than the oppressive and undemocratic ISA, EO, and the Printing Press Acts.

Anonymous_251d: Wan Ahmad said, "We are guided by the Attorney-General's Office. The laws given to us are management laws."

So who says the EC is independent?

Anonymous: Besides seeing how the EC is weak, hypocritical and impotent, it's disturbing to see how little thought goes behind its arguments. Just compare the points between S Ambiga and Wan Ahmad on the 21-day campaign rule.

Hello? At least, Ambiga gave reasons, while Wan Ahmad's response seems arbitrary. This is the ‘top leadership' in the EC?

Headwillroll : What a shocker. Suddenly we find that the EC does not have power. Why didn't Wan Ahmad say so earlier? Why waste people's time protesting on the streets?

Alan Goh: Wan Ahmad, if the EC role is just to monitor banners put up during a general election, then sad to say, taxpayers have been taken for a ride. Why do taxpayers need to spend so much money on the EC when even monkeys can play the role.

Anonymous_418f: Now you know why we need to clean up the EC, who are just like the three monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, talk no evil. Like the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), they are just tools for Umno to retain power.

Multi Racial: Even if EC has prosecuting power, will it make any different? The EC chairman is appointed by the PM. Is it realistic to expect the EC to take the PM or his party to court if they break the election laws?

Why bother telling us what you can't do. Tell us what needs to be done and should have been done now to ensure free and fair elections.

Ksn: Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah says electoral defects do not favour any party. Granted he is right, why not then correct the defects and accept and implement Bersih's requests? No one, whether BN or opposition, will have any grounds to complain then.

Ghkok: As far as I have read, Muhammad Shafee is a well-known Umno lawyer. His view that postal votes in Sarawak "were for the opposition" is the most ridiculous statement I have ever read.

All the information streaming in from Sarawak during and after the elections clearly showed that postal votes were almost completely for BN.

Quigonbond: Well, there you go, PM Najib Razak - your ‘numero uno' Umno lawyer Muhammad Shafee has already spoken. Electoral defects don't necessarily make BN stronger and Pakatan weaker.

In which case, you have wrongly demonised Bersih 2.0 to your own detriment. If you had supported Bersih 2.0, you could have scored even bigger victory in the coming general elections.

Shafee is wise. Surely you must listen to him and immediately put into effect the reforms proposed by Bersih 2.0 for your own sake.

AntiRacial: The EC just passes the buck to MACC and the AG. His statement indirectly indicates there is currently no chance to make changes against election fraud under the BN government.

Mamakputra's Stooge: EC stands for ‘Easily Corruptible'. All Umno-BN has to do is pay the election ‘commission', and the EC will ensure everything will be in their favour.

Anonymous_40a7: Final score: Bersih - 2, EC - 0, Shafee - Rubbish.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .