KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) will decide the date for the Kerdau by-election on Sunday in Kuching as it meets with all political parties in Sarawak as part of its preparation for the state election.
EC Deputy Chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said EC members would convene in Kuching on Saturday to conduct a series of meetings with political party leaders or their representatives, particulary to brief them on the election regulations.
“This will be followed by a Special Election Commission Meeting on the following day to decide on the by-election date for Kerdau, Pahang,” he told Bernama when contacted.
Wan Ahmad said the meeting would be chaired by EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof.
The by-election follows the death of the incumbent Assemblyman, Datuk Zaharuddin Abu Kassim of the BN last Saturday.
“Apart from meeting political parties and EC Special Meeting on Kerdau, the EC will also hold a series of other meetings in Sarawak over the next week, which include its monthly meeting. The reason we want to have the meeting in Kuching is because we do not want to waste time,” he added.
Apart from that, Wan Ahmad also confirmed that all of its officers in Sarawak would undergo a two-week training course in March to prepare for the state election after the Merlimau by-election ends on March 6.
The course will be held in all 71 constituencies in the state for presiding officers, deputy presiding officers and polling clerks.
Although speculation is rife that the Sarawak state election will be called soon as its current term expires on July 24, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has yet to provide a strong hint when the state assembly will be dissolved.
Three days ago, Taib, who will mark his 30th anniversary in office on March 26, denied talks he would dissolve the state assembly this week.
The EC is required to hold the election within 60 days of the assemblyís dissolution.
The commission was reported to have already allocated RM45 million for the upcoming state election.
Already, political parties and leaders from both the state and federal levels are converging in Sarawak to prepare for the poll, with the Barisan Nasional holding its convention on March 6 in Kuching.
Sarawak BN holds 63 seats in the 71-seat assembly, with 35 held by Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), 12 by the Sarawak United Peopleís Party (SUPP), and eight each by Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).
Of the remaining eight seats, DAP has six and Parti Keadilan Rakyat one, while the last is held by an independent.
BN is expected to retain power with a comfortable majority although opposition parties, especially DAP are trying to wrest more seats in urban areas.
In 2006, the state assembly was dissolved on April 24, with nominations held on May 9 and polling on May 20. — Bernama