SHAH ALAM, Jan 17 — Electoral redelineation typically gives an advantage to the ruling party, but this is temporary in nature and tends to diminish in subsequent elections.
Election analyst Manimaran Govindasamy said this conclusion is based on six previous redelineation exercises, in which the ruling party usually benefited in the first election following the review.
“This is a recurring pattern. Every time a redelineation review is carried out, the ruling party gains an advantage in the first election.
“However, after that, the advantage declines, and the opposition usually wins more seats,” he told Media Selangor.
Commenting on allegations of manipulation of the electoral management system, Manimaran said that such issues were frequently raised by the opposition prior to 2018, which claimed that redelineation favoured the government.
Redelineation does not necessarily involve an increase in the number of seats, but may simply entail changes to constituency boundaries, as was the case in 2018.
“This negative perception has undermined public confidence in the Election Commission (EC), even though, in principle, redelineation is carried out to ensure sufficient and fair representation,” he said.
Manimaran also noted that concerns that redelineation will affect Malay-majority constituencies like Sabak Bernam and Sungai Besar are unfounded.
“The majority of voters in these constituencies remain Malay, and history shows that they have not been marginalised. The notion that redelineation disadvantages Malays is old politics,” he said.
Any objections or concerns should be channelled through the public inquiry process during the exhibition of the review report that will be conducted by the EC at a later stage.
Previously, Selangor UMNO chairman Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin said that he would not support any proposal for electoral redelineation that could undermine the interests of Malay-majority constituencies in the state.
The concern arose following assumptions that there are parties seeking to increase non-Malay seats through the redelineation process.
He said that any redelineation exercise must be comprehensive, covering all 22 parliamentary seats in Selangor, and not be focused solely on specific constituencies.
