Bersih

Description

Bersih, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, is a coalition of Malaysian non-governmental organizations that campaigns for clean and fair elections in Malaysia.

It grew out of the Joint Action Committee for Electoral Reform, formed in July 2005, and issued its first joint communique as Bersih on 23 November 2006. It began as a coalition of civil society groups and political parties seeking a thorough reform of Malaysia’s electoral process. It later relaunched itself as an independent civil society movement not affiliated with any political party.

Bersih works to secure clean, transparent elections and to reform the democratic institutions needed for Malaysia’s political stability, independent of any political party. Its activities have included public demonstrations calling for reforms such as cleaning the electoral roll, indelible ink for voting and fair media access, plus election monitoring through volunteer observers. It also issues press statements on electoral and governance issues in Malaysia.

As a coalition, many of its campaigns are joined by other civil society organizations in Malaysia, and by overseas Malaysians through the related Global Bersih movement.