4 November 2013

Dunne Lambasts Electoral Commission Change as Cowardly And Cynical

The Electoral Commission has amended its rules to allow for electronic signatures to be provided as evidence of party membership, but the decision has been attacked as “cowardly and cynical” by UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne.

“When UnitedFuture’s registration case was before the Commission in June, I requested that we be able to submit membership evidence electronically, but that was declined by the Commission as contrary to its rules, so we had to manually obtain individually signed documents to be re-registered.

“Now, the Commission says it decided at its 20 September meeting – barely a month after the UnitedFuture issue had been resolved – to change its rules to what we had been requesting.

“It is also a reaction to my Member’s Bill which would legally require it to accept electronic evidence.

“Making these changes just after the UnitedFuture case, reeks of cowardice on the Commission’s part, but doing it in an endeavour to prevent possible legislative change reeks of cynicism as well, “ he says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media