KUALA LUMPUR: Global Bersih has urged the Election Commission to swiftly step up efforts in delivering ballots to Malaysian voters overseas to enable them to cast their votes on time for GE15.
The watchdog's secretariat in Geneva said that unofficial sources estimated that 50,000 overseas Malaysians were registered as postal voters.
"(This is) more than six times the number registered during GE14."
It added that there are only 14 days (10 working days) from nomination to polling for the EC to issue and send postal ballots, and for overseas voters to receive, cast and return their papers.
"This is extremely challenging for voters who live in countries with long postal delivery times to and from Malaysia."
Global Bersih said in order to maximise the time for voters to return their ballots, the EC should ensure urgency in the process of printing and sending out overseas ballots.
"Tracked mail should also be used to send overseas ballots, with voters being provided the relevant tracking number to allow them to determine the most effective method to return their ballots on time.
"Most overseas voters will be unable to return their ballots through the regular postal service and will need to use expensive courier services or have them delivered by hand."
The issue of overseas voters not being able to vote via postal ballots or cast their ballots on time has been a long-standing issue during general elections.
It further said that the secretariat was working in collaboration with the Global Malaysian Network platform to mobilise volunteers worldwide to help overseas voters, find Malaysian witnesses and coordinate ballot returns through people flying back or courier services.
Those interested in joining their efforts can register at: bit.ly/ge15volunteers.
For local logistics, Global Bersih is in contact with the Malaysian-based organisations under the UndiBanjir umbrella .