Electoral reform group Bersih has reiterated the need for the Election Commission (EC) to introduce automatic voter registration.

This was amid mad scramble to register voters with the expectation that the general election may be held in the first quarter of next year.

“There has been too much misinformation over the past few weeks over deadlines to register to vote and false mechanisms to register through WhatsApp or SMS.

“Bersih believes this misinformation is due to the systematic failure of the Election Commission to facilitate voter registration.

“Bersih repeats its long-held demand to introduce automatic voter registration, based on information already held by the National Registration Department,” it said in a statement today.

It further pointed out that automatic voter registration was one of the recommendations in the 2012 report by the parliamentary selection committee on electoral reform.

“The automated process will further assist in ensuring voters are registered with the correct and up-to-date addresses.

“In the long run it will lead to a more accurate electoral roll,” it said.

Bersih said at present, there are some four million eligible citizens that have yet to be registered as voters.

It notes that the EC had, after the last general election, made it increasingly difficult for political parties and NGOs to register new voters by blocking their applications to be assistant registrar officers.

“At the current rate of registration by the EC, there is little chance of this number being reduced before the next general election,” it said.

Bersih said that the EC cannot abdicate its role in ensuring Malaysians can exercise their democratic right to vote.

He also pointed out that automatic voter registration did not equal to compulsory voting.

“Automatic voter registration gives people the option to vote on polling day without having to find the time and resources to register months in advance,” it said.

There had been a mad rush to register voters before Sept 30 based on the belief that those who do not have their names in the third quarter electoral roll will not be able to vote if the election falls on the first quarter of next year.

However, EC chairperson Hashim Abdullah today clarified that those who registered after Sept 30 will have their names included in the fourth quarter of 2016 electoral roll.

He also urged citizens not to wait until the last minute to register as voters.