With Zahid on top, EC rule on campaign posters could backfire on BN
Given his multiple corruption charges, making him the face of any campaign would provide ready ammunition for rival candidates.
(MalaysiaNow) – Will splashing the BN chairman’s face on posters bring in the votes?
A three-year-old ruling by the Election Commission (EC) on campaign posters made during the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government could end up backfiring on the coalition at the next general election, in the event that it contests on its own.
BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been urging Umno to contest under the coalition’s banner, after securing a mandate from the recent Umno general assembly to cut ties with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) bloc.
This could mean that Umno candidates contesting under the BN logo might be using posters bearing the image of Zahid.
Given his multiple corruption charges, making him the face of any campaign would provide ready ammunition for rival candidates.
Just days before the 2018 general election, the EC issued a ruling that political parties may only use images of their top two leaders on campaign posters, in addition to those of the candidate contesting the constituency in question.
The ruling, which riled up Pakatan Harapan in the run-up to the 14th general election, is still in place, MalaysiaNow has learnt.
“We have not revoked it,” said a source in the EC while another spokesman confirmed that the ruling still applies.
The EC “guideline”, issued just as the election campaign began in 2018, effectively prevented PH from using photos of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim across the country.
Mahathir was at that time leading the PH coalition, while Anwar was still serving time in prison for the crime of sodomy. The two leaders had enjoyed wide support after burying their hatchet, and were riding high on the back of public anger over then-prime minister Najib Razak’s 1MDB scandal.
This time around, it remains to be seen whether Zahid will be the poster boy for BN’s campaign.
