KOTA KINABALU: Another two presiding officers told the Election Court here yesterday that none of the counting agents of all parties contesting in the general election had signed the Form 14.
Wong Teck Yee and Lulin Gaying told Justice Yew Jen Kie that they had provided enough copies of the score sheets in Form 14 which had been verified by them (Wong and Lulin) after the vote counting process,
They testified that the counting agents, including Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Datuk Maijol Mahap’s counting agents were at the vote counting centers throughout the counting process but none of them had requested a certified copy of the Form 14 after the vote counting process was done.
The petitioner, Maijol, who was represented by counsel Fulton Mark Sitiwin, in challenging the legality of the result for Kota Marudu parliamentary seat, had filed his petition on May 12 naming PBS-BN winner Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, the Returning Officer (RO) and the Election Commission (EC) as respondents.
In his petition, Maijol, among others, questioned the issue on the use of indelible ink, money bribery and the failure to observe election laws, which he claimed had affected the result of the election as a whole.
On August 13, Yew allowed Ongkili’s preliminary objection and struck him out from the petition as Maijol had not pleaded enough facts on the allegation of corrupt practice against Ongkili.
However, she ordered a full trial against the RO and EC. The Kuching-based High Court judge also ruled that Ongkili’s name would still remain in the petition as it would depend on the evidence adduced during the trial.
The presiding officers further said in their witness statements that the PKR counting agents nor other counting agents that were at SK Matunggong and SK Indarason Laut vote counting centers respectively, had never raised dissatisfaction that they did not receive the Form 14.
Senior federal counsel Zawawi Ghazali, federal counsels Intan Illani Mohd Azani and Nurhasmita Abd Manap represented the RO and EC while counsel Chin Teck Ming held a watching brief for Ongkili.
The trial continues today.