PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) will have to wait for the outcome of the petition for a royal pardon submitted by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s family first before it can meet regarding a by-election for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, said its secretary Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh.
He said an official announcement on the status of the seat would first have to be made by the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat after a decision has been made by the Pardons Board before the matter could be pursued further.
“The vacancy status of the Permatang Pauh Parliamentary seat will be officially made by the Speaker to the EC, in line with Article 54 of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
On Tuesday, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia confirmed receiving a copy of the petition for pardon filed by Anwar’s wife, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and two of their daughters, Nurul Izzah and Nurul Nuha, for Anwar to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The petition for pardon is in connection with the conviction and five-year jail sentence on Anwar, who is also the MP for Permatang Pauh, for the crime of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in 2008.
Anwar, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader, is currently held at the Sungai Buloh Prison after the Federal Court here on Feb 10 maintained the conviction and five-year jail sentence on him imposed by the Court of Appeal after rejecting his final appeal.
Ghani said the EC had received an official notification from Dewan Rakyat Secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah via a letter dated Feb 24, 2015, of the disqualification Anwar as the Permatang Pauh member of parliament following the Federal Court decision.
He said as the petition for pardon was filed under Article 48 Clause 4 (a) of the Federal Constitution, the disqualification of the Permatang Pauh member of parliament now hinged on the decision by His Majesty on the pardon application. — Bernama