The irregularities that cropped up during the recent general election was a "case of systematic, well-contrived and strategically executed electoral fraud," claimed jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

He said the problems faced by registered voters transcended further than mere incompetence of Election Commission (EC) staff or technical mishaps.

Anwar stressed that an independent probe must be initiated to get to the root of the problem. The EC itself had proposed such an investigation after being assailed with criticism.

"Throughout the country, hundreds of voters were denied their fundamental right to vote while illegal voters sponsored by Barisan Nasional (BN) appeared out of nowhere in the crucial constituencies," he said in a statement.

He termed this a "gross betrayal" of the people's trust and called upon Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to form a royal commission to inquire into the matter.

If fraudulence can be established, Anwar said the premier must then have the courage to call for a fresh election.

'Dubious tactics'

He also called on the public not to be deceived by the criticism heaped on the EC by government leaders.

"BN would have us think that the flaws are related to procedural blotches, inefficiency of EC staff and some minor irregularities in the electoral roll. The prime minister and other BN leaders sing in chorus with opposition parties to criticise the commission," he said.

"This is a great deception indeed for at stake is not a question of technical fiascos, but a case of systematic, well-contrived and strategically executed electoral fraud."

Anwar said the election debacle compounded the public's suspicion that EC was ruled by the executive.

"Right from the beginning, we have questioned the veracity of the electoral roll, demanding it to be verified by independent parties but all (this) was haughtily dismissed," he said.

"And the final electoral roll was only made available on March 15, barely five days before the election."

Abuses unchecked

He said the commission's oblivious response to surveys conducted by independent observers showing that the roll was littered with 'phantom' voters was enough to show up its lack of credibility.

"These decisions together with the one-week campaign period clearly indicated that the EC was acting on the instructions of the prime minister," he said.

Furthermore, he alleged that the EC had made no effort to check the abuses and violations of the rules of campaign by BN leaders, who used government machinery to canvass votes.

He said the EC had also failed to check on the government's control of the mass media.

"The media was used by the BN to instill fear among the electorate, using state corporations to send subliminal messages to viewers on the importance of harmony and development calculated to instill the belief that this would not be available if the opposition wins," he claimed.

Anwar, who was sacked in 1998, is currently serving a 15-year jail sentence for corruption and sodomy. He claims that the charges were trumped up by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad but this has been denied.