The Election Commission logo is seen at its headquarters in Putrajaya January 10, 2019. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Putrajaya has appointed University of Malaya law professor Azmi Sharom as the deputy chairman of the Election Commission.

The office of Chief Secretary to the Government made the announcement today, along with other members of the commission that currently comprises only chairman Azhar Harun.

Azmi’s appointment is another major signal of the Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) commitment towards its pledged reform of the country’s election system.

“It is hereby announced that His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah has consented to the following appointments based on Clause (1) of Article 144 of the Federal Constitution,” read the statement announcing the appointments.

The Bersih 2.0 electoral watchdog that has long campaigned for free and fair elections will finally be directly involved in reforming Malaysia’s voting system, with its resource officer Zoe Randhawa named to the commission.

Another academic, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia associate professor Faisal Hazis, was also named as a commissioner.

Other new members named to the election regulator include former Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Ramlan Ibrahim and former Human Resources Ministry secretary-general Datuk Chin Phaik Yoong.

All the commissioners’ terms will begin from when they first report for duty and will last until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 66 years old.

* A previous version of this story contained an error which has since been corrected.