The number of signatures repeated on more than one candidacy list has jumped to 118 this week from a total of 92 repeat signatures reported by the Electoral Affairs Commission for the 2017 Legislative Assembly (AL) nearly ten days ago, the Chairman of the Commission, Tong Hio Fong, said yesterday after a meeting.
The Secretariat of the Commission claimed to have so far met 33 of those identified individuals, and found one case in which a nominee’s signature had been acquired by someone allegedly providing the person with misleading or false information.
According to Mr. Tong, the information presented to the Commission suggests the case – which was transferred to the Public Security Police Force for investigation – might have violated the Legislative Assembly Election Law.
The law specifies that only political associations and nomination committees have the right to nominate candidate lists for the Legislative Assembly election.
If any wrongdoing is proved, the person or persons involved could face from one to five years in prison.
In addition, the Commission has confirmed the legal status of four additional nomination committees regarding the direct election process.
Overall, a total of 25 nomination committees have been approved for the coming Legislative Assembly Election, with the legal status of six nomination committees for the indirect election process being previously confirmed.
