KUCHING: The Election Commission (EC) must extend absentee or advance voting to various categories of voters, now that the Emergency in Sarawak has been lifted to pave the way for the state election within 60 days, says a local civil society organisation.

       Persatuan Pemangkin Daya Masyarakat, also known as Rose, said this was imperative to boost voter turnout at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic was still at a worrying level.

       It said absentee voting should be extended to Sarawakian voters living in Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah to enable them to cast their ballots without having to come back to Sarawak.

       "Another category of voters is those working or living in Singapore and the neighbouring Asean region.

       "We call on the EC to allow them to be postal or advance voters who can vote at special polling centres set up in major cities or at least one city in each state in the Peninsula," Rose said in a statement Thursday (Nov 4).

       Similarly, it said elderly voters in care homes and voters in quarantine centres should not lose their right to vote.

       "They can still vote if the EC implements some kind of mobile ballot box or voting method," it said.

       On the election campaign, Rose said alternative provisions for campaigning must be put in place if a blanket ban was imposed on election-related meetings or gatherings.

       For instance, it said airtime on state television and radio should be provided to all parties if physical campaigns were banned.

       It also called on the EC to come up with the appropriate standard operating procedures for the state election well ahead of time in order to communicate them to the stakeholders before the polls.