Malaysia signs agreement for Election Reforms

Malaysia's Election Commission has signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for election reforms.

Azhar Azizan Harun, the EC chairman said the agreement of Malaysia Electoral Reform Support (MERS) starting this month to December 2020 is under the Country Programme Action Plan 2016 - 2020 between Malaysia and the UNDP. Harun said the cooperation involved the sharing cost of US$1.6 million, of which a large proportion is being shouldered by the agency.

"Through this cooperation, UNDP will provide EC with technical consultation assistance and services especially in improving the electoral rolls as well as capacity building through Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE). This will strengthen the functions of EC and benefit the overall election operation management to be more transparent, cleaner and fairer."

Harun said the cooperation was in line with the first pillar of the Mid-Term Review of 11^th Malaysia Plan (11MP) which is Governance Reforms Towards Improving Transparency and Efficiency in the Civil Service.