Peranan Pemerhati Pilihan Raya: Kajian Kes Malaysia (The Role of Election Observers: A Case Study of Malaysia)

Abstract

What are the roles and limitations of domestic election monitoring organizations (DEMOs) in Malaysia, which lie at the midpoint of the democracy/autocracy continuum? Although DEMOs have been active in Malaysia since GE 1990, until the 10 series of by-elections held after the historic 2018 General Election (GE 2018), they were not as prominent as legitimate third parties compared to DEMOs in several other Southeast Asian countries. This article identifies three factors that play a key role in influencing the operation of DEMOs in Malaysia: the dual character of the Malaysian electoral system, the polarisation of civil society and political complexion of DEMOs. Although the post-2018 General Election saw the Election Commission diversify the involvement of DEMOs, it ironically created a convergence among pro-Pakatan Harapan DEMOs. The findings also suggest that the three crucial factors in developing election monitoringinvolvement of civil society, democracy assistance and a combination of grievances and the structure of political opportunities did not play a complementary role in Malaysia.