Small spelt big for BN in the last polls
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The BN formed the government by winning most of its 130 parliamentary constituencies with the smallest number of voters.
According to lawyer Andrew Khoo, BN took 112 seats of these smallest constituencies, thus obtaining a simple majority.
However, he said, the number of voters who chose BN in those 112 seats only made up close to 20 percent of the total votes cast in the 13th general electoral.
"Basically that is how BN won the election," the Bar Council Human Rights Committee co-chairperson said at a forum today.
Khoo (left), who is also part of the electoral reform group Bersih, said the winning majorities illustrates this point further.
According to him, DAP candidates Teresa Kok and Tony Pua's winning majorities had respectively trumped the total winning majorities in 31 closest-fought constituencies, which were won with 3,000 votes or less.
The total winning majorities for the 31 seats was 43,079 and this pales in comparison to Kok's 51,552 in Seputeh and Pua's 44,672 in Petaling Jaya Utara.
"Had (the duo's) winning majorities been dispersed, the election result would have been different," he said.
Najib only BN rep to win big
Khoo said that BN chief Najib Abdul Razak was the only BN candidate to make it to the list of candidates with the top 20 largest-winning majorities. The rest were Pakatan Rakyat candidates.
He said that the disparity in number of voters between constituencies can be traced to a conditional amendment made in 1973.
He said that prior to 1973, the constitution set a cap on the difference between constituency size at 33 percent, while the pre-Merdeka electoral rules states that the difference must not be higher than 15 percent.
All the same, he said the 33 percent rule was not respected in 1969 when then Bungsar was six times larger than then Johor Tenggara.
According to lawyer Andrew Khoo, BN took 112 seats of these smallest constituencies, thus obtaining a simple majority.
However, he said, the number of voters who chose BN in those 112 seats only made up close to 20 percent of the total votes cast in the 13th general electoral.
"Basically that is how BN won the election," the Bar Council Human Rights Committee co-chairperson said at a forum today.
Khoo (left), who is also part of the electoral reform group Bersih, said the winning majorities illustrates this point further.According to him, DAP candidates Teresa Kok and Tony Pua's winning majorities had respectively trumped the total winning majorities in 31 closest-fought constituencies, which were won with 3,000 votes or less.
The total winning majorities for the 31 seats was 43,079 and this pales in comparison to Kok's 51,552 in Seputeh and Pua's 44,672 in Petaling Jaya Utara.
"Had (the duo's) winning majorities been dispersed, the election result would have been different," he said.
Najib only BN rep to win big
Khoo said that BN chief Najib Abdul Razak was the only BN candidate to make it to the list of candidates with the top 20 largest-winning majorities. The rest were Pakatan Rakyat candidates.
He said that the disparity in number of voters between constituencies can be traced to a conditional amendment made in 1973.
He said that prior to 1973, the constitution set a cap on the difference between constituency size at 33 percent, while the pre-Merdeka electoral rules states that the difference must not be higher than 15 percent.
All the same, he said the 33 percent rule was not respected in 1969 when then Bungsar was six times larger than then Johor Tenggara.
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