Thursday May 9, 2013

GE13: European Union delegation all praise over high voter turnout

KUALA LUMPUR: European Union (EU) head of delegation to Malaysia Luc Vandebon has commended Malaysians for the record voter turnout during the general election.

He described the massive turnout on Sunday as a testimony to the democratic awakening of the Malaysian people.

“Safeguarding democracy has been and remains a cornerstone of the EU's internal and external policy.

“In this light, I applaud the Malaysian people for the record voter turnout for the 13th general election,” he said in his speech at the “Finding Europe in Malaysia” photography competition awards ceremony held at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The event was held in conjunction with the Europe Day celebrations to be observed today.

There was a record 85% voter turnout on polling day.

At a press conference later, Vandebon echoed the statement issued by EU's high representative in Brussels, Catherine Ashton, who congratulated Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for having won another term in office.

On EU-Malaysia ties, Vandebon hopes that relations between the EU Delegation and Malaysia will continue to flourish as it had over the past decade.

Vandebon said EU funding for research projects had also expanded and this indicated growing ties between both sides.

This year marked the 10th year of EU Delegation establishing its mission in Kuala Lumpur. - Bernama

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