PETALING JAYA: Election Commission (EC) chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah will be cutting his tenure short and will leave on July 1, 2018.The EC said this date had been approved by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V through a letter from the Istana Negara dated June 7, 2018. The Prime Minister has also been informed of the matter."The EC thanks Hashim for all he has done during his time with EC," the statement read.
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It did not mention the period Hashim, 64, was earlier supposed to serve EC. The statement also gave no reason for cutting his tenure short.However, his predecessor, Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, had served until he was 66.
Hashim joined the EC on Sept 5, 2014 as deputy chairman and was appointed chairman on Jan 24, 2016.During the 14th general election (GE14), the EC came under heavy fire from Pakatan Harapan and its supporters who accused the EC of acting in favour of the then Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
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The criticism was aimed at the redelineation exercise, holding the election on a Wednesday and the delay in revealing the results on the night of May 9.Hashim had denied allegations by electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 that it had manipulated GE14 to allow certain parties to win.
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He said the EC had carried out its duties with transparency and fairness.
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"The EC never interfered in any matters, including the counting and tallying of ballot papers."He added that the results, which were in Pakatan Harapan's favour, and the smooth transition of power, were proof that GE14 had been conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
