The people and not the Election Commission (EC) should decide on which party will form the state government if there is a tie in the number of state seats won, said PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang today.

He said this could be done by adding up the total number of votes received by the contesting parties at all polling centres in the state and the one with the most number of votes should form the government.

"It is not up to the EC, we don't bow down to the EC in this matter, it should be monitored further based on the majority votes of all the people," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report.

The PAS leader and Terengganu menteri besar was responding to the statement by EC chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman yesterday which, among others, said the commission would draw lots to decide on which party would form the government in case of a tie.

Terengganu, which has 32 state assembly seats, is one of the eight states where the total number of state seats make up an even number. The other states are Kedah (36), Penang (40), Selangor (56), Melaka (28), Johor (56), Pahang (42) and Sabah (48).

Abdul Hadi said the drawing of lots recommended could lead to abuse or cheating and dismissed it as an undemocratic method.

"When the total number of votes by the people is taken, whatever the result, we will honour the rakyat's decision," he added.

Defeat possibility

Commenting on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's confidence that Barisan Nasional (BN) would recapture Terengganu, he said he and PAS were prepared to face defeat in the election.

"We are used to defeats because we have been defeated throughout the general elections except for the last one. We have more experience in facing defeats than accepting victory," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the PAS leader claimed that Abdullah was still afraid to resolve corruption cases involving influential people which had occurred since former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's era.

"In tackling problems on corruption, action is (only) taken on those whose influence have declined," he added.

Following a visit to Terengganu yesterday, the premier said the support shown by the people there proved that the ruling front could re-capture the state.

He also promised not to disappoint the people if they gave the BN the mandate to rule the state.

In the 1999 general election, BN won only four of the 32 state seats and none of the eight parliamentary seats in Terengganu. The state seats under its control are Ajil, Telemong, Kemasik and Seberang Takir.