SPR: People's Tribunal - Bersih 2.0 Names 3 Locals, 3 Foreigners as members
Thread: SPR: People's Tribunal - Bersih 2.0 Names 3 Locals, 3 Foreigners as members
Bersih names 3 locals, 3 foreigners as People's Tribunal members
Last Updated:2:12pm, Jul 25, 2013
by Kristina Mariswamy
From left: Organising committee members Meera Samanther an Ivy Josiah, Gurdial, Bersih co-chair Ambiga, Irene Fernandez, Jerald Joseph and organising committee member Andrew Khoo.
KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): The six members, three locals and three from overseas, of the Bersih People's Tribunal were named today by the organising committee for the People's Tribunal.
Stating that members of the tribunal were picked through a process, Bersih steering committee co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan highlighted that all individuals were "people that shared a strong commitment to the rule of law".
The People's Tribunal, comprised those with diverse backgrounds who according to Ambiga will be able to make independent decisions, was established to ascertain whether the 13th general election was conducted in a free and fair manner.
Chairing the tribunal is Yash Pal Ghai,a reputable expert in constitutional law, who has extensive experience including being the former head of the constitution advisory support unit of the UN Development Programme in Nepal, former special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cambodia on human rights and former chairperson of the Kenya Constitution Review Commission and Kenya National Constitutional Conference.
Other international members are former deputy chairman of the Indonesian Election Commission Ramlan Surbakti and president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, former senator and deputy leader of the Democrat Party Thailand Kraisak Choonhavan.
Malaysian members include Datuk Azzat Kamaludin, a well-known lawyer and former administrative and diplomatic officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, Dr Mavis Puthucheary, co-editor of the book Elections and Democracy in Malaysia, and former associate professor from the Faculty of Economics and Administration Universiti Malaya, and Reverend Dr Herman Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.
Assisted by a team of 30 lawyers, Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar, Professor of Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Malaya, will lead the legal team to present evidence on behalf of the people.
Speaking to reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Gurdial stated that they expected "a team of 10 to 12 witnesses and two to three experts".
The tribunal will take the form of a commission of inquiry led by a legal team who will present evidence and arguments to the tribunal.
The tribunal is tasked to study, investigate, review and report on:
1. The complaints received or disclosed on events leading up to and surrounding the 13th general election;
2. The electoral process which took place in respect of the 13th general election;
3. The effect of the findings from (1) and (2) have had on the 13th general election, particularly in the free and fair criteria (free access to the media, money politics, adherence to local elections laws);
4. Any matters related or incidental to the above, including the effect on voters rights generally and the rights of minority communities.
"The tribunal is essentially a citizen's efforts and a people's platform to investigate and scrutinise the conduct of the last general election," said Irene Fernandez, a member of the organising committee.
"It will be a tribunal of conscience, mandated with a moral force by the people to arrive at the truth," added the executive director of Tenaganita, an NGO which promotes the rights of migrant workers and other oppressed and poor people in Malaysia..
Members of the public are also encouraged give statements or evidence relating to claims of electoral fraud and irregularities during the May 5 polls via email to the people's tribunal secretariat atbersih.tribunal@gmail.comby Aug 16.
The People's Tribunal, which will take place from Sept 18-22, is fully funded by the Malaysian public.
Read more:http://www.fz.com/content/bersih-nam...#ixzz2a2aHfyrV
Bersih invites EC to probe on electoral fraud in GE13
Ahmad Fadli KC
1:13PM Jul 25, 2013
The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) has invited the Election Commission (EC) to participate in the people's tribunal on the 13th general election.
Its purpose is to investigate allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities. The public has been asked to send in evidence.
Organising committee member Ivy Josiah said that the tribunal would send the EC a formal invitation soon.
Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan said the event will take place from Sept 18-22.
"This tribunal will look into whether there were any actions during the election period that has broken international laws and was against the norms of an election," she said.
The tribunal will be based on international standards and charters set by the United Nations (UN), Ambiga said.
The tribunal will be chaired by a constitutional expert for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nepal, Yash Pal Gai.
An international panel
There are three Malaysians who are part of the panel - lawyer Azzat Kamaludin, former Universiti Malaya associate professor Mavis Puthucheary, and Malaysian Church Council secretary-general Dr Herman Shahstri.
Also included in the panel are former Indonesian election commission director Ramlan Surbakti, and president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, Kraisak Choonvahan.
Bersih said that the Malaysian public will be represented by a legal team formed to produce evidence to the tribunal, and will be headed by Universiti Malaya (UM) law researcher Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar.
The terms of reference for the tribunal would be as follows:
a. The complaints received or disclosed on events leading up to and surrounding the 13th general election;
b. The electoral process which took place in respect of the 13th general election;
c. The effect that the findings on (a) and (b) have had on the 13th general election and in particular the free and fair criteria; and
d. Any other matters related and incidental to the above including the effect on voters rights generally and the rights of minority communities.
Bersih said that the tribunal can act to either question or even make allegations regarding matters pertaining to the elections.
It cited the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal in 2011 and the International War Crimes Tribunal in 2001 as an example of tribunals which attracted international attention.
EC to wait and see
When asked about the EC's response to Bersih's call, EC chief chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof told Malaysiakini that they will await the group's official invitation and study the matter.
"We will await their invitation and refer the matter to the legal advisor and the attorney general to see if it is proper for the EC to attend or not," he said in a SMS.
"Who has appointed the tribunal (members) and according to what laws?" he added.
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