Malaysia: Citizens denied a fair vote NEW YORK – Government restraints on expression, assembly and access to state media will deny Malaysians a fair vote in the March 8 general elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
The authorities' manipulation of the electoral process appears aimed to ensure that the ruling coalition maintains its two-thirds parliamentary majority.
"Once again, elections in Malaysia are grossly unfair to the opposition," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch . "Malaysia's ruling coalition is too comfortable with the status quo to allow reforms that would level the playing field."
On March 8, Malaysians will vote for the national parliament. Since 1969, the ruling Barisan Nasional, a coalition consisting of 14 parties, has held a two-thirds majority in parliament, which enables it to amend the constitution at will. Opposition parties currently hold 9.6 percent of the seats in parliament.
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