KUCHING: If all goes well, the next general election would most probably be held after May.
This was the opinion of the state director of the Election Commission (EC), Datu Takun Sunggah.
Takun said the state EC was geared to prepare for the biggest showdown between the ruling BN and Pakatan Rakyat in the coming general election.
“Our planning is that we would be ready for the 13th general election after May 31,” he told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
Though Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had called for a BN supreme council meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night, he did not hint as to when the general election would be held.
The latest revelation by the EC would make it easier for political parties to gauge when the next general election would be held. The EC is the custodian of the election process in the country.
Takun said Returning Officers (who are normally senior government officers) had not been appointed yet.
“We are not there yet; there are a lot of things to do before we would be ready for it (general election),” he pointed out.
He disclosed an estimated one million registered voters in the state, a slight increase since the last state election.
On another issue, Takun said the EC would only be able to weed off the names of dead voters with the help of the National Registration Department (NRD) though an Agency Link-Up System (Alis).
“Only the NRD will be able to delete the names of dead voters after it had verified their names,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state EC would not get the indelible ink yet, as it might dry up easily, Takun said.
“The EC headquarters in KL would supply the ink when the time comes,” he said.