The Election Commission (EC) released a ruling by the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases yesterday, confirming that the taking of instruction notes into the polling booths by candidates in the Senate election last June is not illegal because there is no law specifying that it is illegal.
The ruling also states that the EC cannot prevent senatorial candidates from taking notes into the polling booths.
Prior to the Senate election in June last year, the EC issued a regulation prohibiting candidates from taking “self-introduction” documents into the polling booths. The Central Administrative Court had revoked the regulation.
The EC’s release of the ruling appears to be intended to counter the Department of Special Investigation’s (DSI) allegation that the Senate election involved voting collusion because instruction notes were taken into the polling booths by some candidates.
Yesterday, the DSI’s special case committee agreed, by a majority of those present, which was short of two-thirds of all 22 committee members, to allow the DSI to investigate only the money laundering aspect of the Senate election case.
The DSI had hoped to be cleared to investigate those allegedly involved in electoral collusion, criminal association, money laundering and posing a national security threat.
