SG KANDIS POLLS | BN's candidate for the Sungai Kandis by-election, Lokman Adam, said he has no confidence in electoral reform group Bersih's ability to monitor the electoral process.

"I don't expect anything from Bersih because, first of all, they are not 'bersih' (clean). Secondly, they are sponsored by the OSF (Open Society Foundation) of George Soros. (They are funded by) foreigners.

"Therefore, I can only place my hopes on Malaysians to save this country," Lokman told Malaysiakini after he was named as the BN candidate for the by-election today.

The EC has invited Bersih, among others, to observe the entire electoral process from nomination day tomorrow until polling on Aug 4.

This is the first time the EC has invited Bersih - its chief critic since it was formed in 2006 - to be an observer.

Four other groups that were invited are the Human Rights Commission, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the Persatuan Orang Kota Baru, the Kelab Pemikir Politik Nasional and Engage.

The five groups will be supplying a total of 69 observers of which the bulk will come from Bersih (38).

A caveat was that the observers must not make public statements on what took place in the nomination and counting centres until the entire process is over.

The EC's decision to include vocal pressure groups such as Bersih and Suhakam is seen to be a major departure from the opaque habit of recruiting representatives from election monitoring bodies (EMB) from other countries.

For example, the EC invited EMB representatives from authoritarian countries such as Cambodia, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan to observe the 14th general election while refusing to allow Suhakam to do so.

Recommendations by these EMBs on the recently concluded general election, if any, were not made public.

The two major parties that are taking part in the upcoming Sungai Kandis by-election are Pakatan Harapan, represented by PKR's Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni, and BN, represented by Umno's Lokman.