Balingian by-election can be held if seat vacated by June 21

Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the EC can hold a by-election for the Balingian state seat in Sarawak if the incumbent, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, vacates the seat before June 21.

However, he said if Taib vacates the seat after that date, the EC would not need to hold any by-election in Sarawak.

This was because, under the state's constitution, there would be no by-election if there was any casual vacancy within two years from the expiry of the State Legislative Assembly, he told Bernama on Wednesday.

The Sarawak state assembly's term will expire on June 20, 2016, and the two-year period (when no state by-elections need to be held) begins on June 21, 2014.

Abdul Aziz added that in the event the seat is vacated before that date, a by-election would have to be called within 60 days as per the law.

Taib, 77, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) president and the assemblyman for Balingian, on Wednesday announced that he would be stepping down as Chief Minister of Sarawak on Feb 28, after holding the office since 1981.