The Election Commission (EC) will conduct a detailed review into the issue of voters uploading images of marked ballot papers on social media platforms.
EC Chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said the commission needed to first determine whether the images were taken by ordinary voters while casting their ballots inside polling streams or by postal voters.
He said the EC had taken note of several posts circulating on social media showing ballot papers that had already been marked, but the source of the images could not yet be confirmed.
“We have seen several posts on social media where some parties uploaded pictures of marked ballot papers.
“However, we cannot confirm whether the images were taken inside polling streams during normal voting or if they were from individuals who voted through postal voting,” he said during a press conference at the EC Main Operations Room at Bangunan Sultan Ismail.
Ramlan said the matter would be examined further to ensure similar incidents, particularly involving ordinary voters, could be prevented in future elections.
He was responding to questions on whether action would be taken against voters who shared images of their marked ballots publicly.
Meanwhile, Ramlan said the EC would continue sharing unofficial election results through live broadcasts on social media platforms.
He said the initiative received positive feedback when it was first introduced during the recent Kinabatangan by-election.
“The information shared is not confidential as it is obtained from Form 14. We believe sharing unofficial results based on the data received is more appropriate.
“We will look into any related issues in detail, but overall, we believe this initiative provides more benefits,” he said.
The Johor 16th State Election concluded recently, with Barisan Nasional (BN) securing 48 state seats while Pakatan Harapan (PH) won eight seats in the 56-seat state assembly.
