PETALING JAYA: With only four states having officially dissolved their state assemblies, the Election Commission is unable to set the nomination and polling dates for the next general election.
At a press conference today, Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah said notices of dissolution had been received from the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, for Parliament, and from Perlis, Negri Sembilan, Johor and Melaka.
Without notices from the other states, the Election Commission would be unable to decide on a uniform date for the general election, involving 222 parliamentary and 587 state seats.
“This is not just about setting the polling date,” he said. “We also have to set dates for the nomination, submission of writs, election notices and date for early voting, among other things.”
Sabah was the first to announce that consent had been obtain for dissolution, while Selangor is to hold a special ceremony in Klang on Monday for the formal dissolution of the state assembly, menteri besar Azmin Ali has announced.
Penang chief minister, Lim Guan Eng, has said that he would first hold a meeting of the state executive council some time “in the next few days” before seeking to meet the governor (Yang Dipertua Negeri).
Pahang and Kelantan also announced today that consent had been obtained for their state assemblies to be dissolved.