The entire Election Commission (EC) must resign for failing to ensure the indelible ink worked in the May 5 general elections, several speakers said at a rally here.

Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and PKR strategy chief Rafizl Ramli led the calls for the entire EC to step down after complaints about the  indelible ink, introduced in Election 2013 to prevent double voting, could be easily washed off.

“On that ground, any Election Commission worth its salt would have resigned in embarassment over dakwat kekal (indelible ink),” said Ambiga, who is also a senior lawyer, told a crowd at the rally in Dataran Petaling Jaya here.

Speakers throughout the night had also spoke on alleged fraud by the EC, leading the crowd in chants to “Pecat SPR” (Fire EC) and “SPR tipu” (EC cheats). The EC has denied these claims, which have yet to be proven in court.

Thousands crowded the Dataran Petaling Jaya field for the rally against alleged electoral fraud, an NGO-organised affair that appearsto be a continuation of a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) roadshow that began two weeks ago. There was a light drizzle but many brought umbrellas as they listened to the speakers.

Despite police remarks that the gathering known as “Himpunan SuaraRakyat505” was illegal, the crowd turned up clad in black to symbolise their protest.

Mobile food stalls on the edge of the field did a brisk trade, catering to the crowd listening to a number of speakers who began from late evening. Among those scheduled to appear are opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang.

Two of the speakers at tonight’s rally made their first public speeches after being investigated recently under the Sedition Act 1948 for their allegedly seditious remarks on the polls results

The two were PKR Batu MP Chua Tian Chang and activist Haris Ibrahim — who were released from the police lock-up yesterday after a magistrate refused an application to extend their remand. The other was PAS’s Tamrin Ghafar.

The last of the four — student leader Adam Adli — was charged under the Sedition Act on Thursday after his arrest last Saturday, but has since been released on bail.

-The Malaysian Insider – Sun, May 26, 2013