Voter lethargy likely to impact PH most: Analyst

PETALING JAYA: Voter lethargy can have an impact on the number of voters turning out to vote in the 15th general election (GE15), as many people feel political parties failed to respect their decision in the last general election.

Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said the main party that can be impacted by this is Pakatan Harapan (PH).

He said one reason can be the coalition’s strategy to paint Barisan Nasional (BN) as the bogeyman and the front to beat.

“PH has been harping that BN is the party to beat, to prevent it from forming the next government. The aftermath of GE14 has made many voters, especially those who supported the Opposition, feel their votes will not count and therefore there is no reason for them to go out and vote.

“The 222 MPs from the recently dissolved Dewan Rakyat are to be blamed for what has happen over the last four years.

“PH has to redesign its strategy and impress upon the voters how important their votes will be, and that it will give them a chance to form the government.”

He said there will be seven to eight million new voters and most of the younger voters will want to cast their ballots “but the problem lies with the older voters”.

He pointed out that this group had not bothered to register previously and now that they have been registered automatically, they may still not vote because they feel it will not make any difference to their lives as “nothing will change”.

Low voter turnout will always be a possibility but to guess the percentage of turnout will be hard as nearly half the number of voters this time are first-timers, Azmi said.

He also said it would be impossible to predict whether voter turnout for GE15 will be higher or lower than GE14 due to the large number of new voters.

“Every voter should go out and vote. They need to be responsible. A high turnout will be positive for the nation’s democracy.”

National Council of Professors senior fellow Dr Jeniri Amir said voter lethargy exists but to what extent remains to be seen.

He said if the turnout is 75% or more, then it will be good and if it hovers around the 60% mark, it would be considered low.

“Lethargy is there but there is also some anxiety in the air to see who will win and whether the voters’ decision would be respected.

“It is important for voters to turn out in droves on Nov 19, no voter can sit it out.

“This will be the vote to end the chaos of (having) three governments and three prime ministers over the last four years.

“Voters can once again pick a political party which they feel will best represent their and the country’s vision and future.”

He said it is going to be a daunting task to encourage voters to turn out in big numbers on Nov 19, with 30% of them not even realising they could vote until they were informed about it.

He added that it will be the duty of political parties’ grassroots to explain to voters about the importance of them casting their ballots.

“It is a duty which must be carried out, no one should find an excuse not to vote.

“Anyone who fails to vote will have no right to complain about the decision made by other voters. They cannot be upset or disappointed with the situation in the country (for the next five years).”

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