The measurement of Gerrymander practices in demarcation of elections: A critical comparison at Selangor Parliament in the 13th GE and 14th GE
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2021
Abstract
The practice of gerrymander is a global practice that is typically associated with redemarcation, including in Malaysia. It is the practice of manipulating maps or election constituencies to give a party victory, especially to the current government, to govern the nation. The demarcation that does not emphasise the population's balance with the number of delegates in a constituency contributes to gerrymandering practice. This study aims to test the effectiveness of spatial element in re-demarcation by referring to the Parliamentary constituencies in the state of Selangor as a case study. The applied spatial element analysis involves measuring the density index to indentify whether there is a gerrymandering practice in the redemarcation made in 2003 and 2018. The calculation of bias and disproportionality were also done to see if there is an imbalance in the number of votes and seats in the election results. This answers the demarcation study's primary purpose: to equalise voters' number in one constituency with another constituency. The results showed that the opposition won the parliamentary divisions that recorded the highest density index reading. Meanwhile, the parliamentary divisions with the low-density index value were still under the government's leadership. Therefore, the Election Commission should make spatial element as one of the factors in redemarcation for a more transparent and clean electoral system to be practised in Malaysia.
Keywords
Bias and disproportionality, Spatial element, Gerrymander, Density index, Demarcation
Divisions
Geography
Publication Title
Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society & Space
Volume
17
Issue
1
Publisher
Univ Kebangsaan Malaysia, Fac Social Sciences & Humanities