PUTRAJAYA:The Election Commission (EC) will hold a special meeting to discuss important dates for the by-elections scheduled to take place in the Gerik parliamentary constituency in Perak and Bugaya state constituency in Sabah, this Friday (Nov 27).

Its secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak, in a statement today, said the special meeting will be chaired by EC chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh at 9.30 am at the agency headquarters in Menara SPR, here.

“The special meeting will discuss the important dates of the by-elections such as the date of Election writ, nomination day, polling day, electoral rolls to use and other preparations required to conduct the election,” he said.

Ikmalrudin said that the EC had received an official notification of the vacancy of the P.054 Gerik parliamentary seat in Perak and N.66 Bugaya state seat, in Sabah following the deaths of the two incumbents.

The incumbent of the Gerik parliamentary seat, the late Datuk Hasbullah Osman, died on Nov 16, while the incumbent of the Bugaya state seat, the late Manis Muka Mohd Darah died a day later, on Nov 17.

Ikmalrudin said the EC received a notification regarding the vacancy of the Gerik parliamentary seat from the Dewan Rakyat speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun on Nov 18.

“In accordance with Article 54 Clause (1) of the Federal Constitution, the EC will hold a by-election to fill the vacancy,” he said.

Hasbullah, 63, died on Nov 16 in Raub, Pahang due to heart disease. In the 14th General Election, he won the seat with a majority of 5,528 votes.

As for the Bugaya state seat, Ikmalrudin said the EC received an official notification from Sabah assembly speaker Datuk Kadzim M. Yahya on Nov 23.

“A by-election will also be held to fill the vacancy based on Article 21 (5) of the Sabah State Constitution," he said.

Manis Muka, 65, died on Nov 17 at Gleneagles Hospital Kota Kinabalu due to kidney problems. She defended the seat in the Sabah State Election on Oct 26 with a majority of 6,005 votes.

In a related development, the Dewan Rakyat today was told that a declaration of emergency, as the one proclaimed in the Batu Sapi parliamentary constituency on Nov 18, is currently being considered for both Gerik parliamentary constituency and Bugaya state constituency, which are facing a by-election following the death of the respective elected representatives.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the declaration, however, depends on the risk assessment by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Security Council (MKN).

On Nov 18, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah declared an emergency in Batu Sapi, which thus cancelled the by-election for the parliamentary seat initially set for Dec 5.

For the declaration in Batu Sapi, Takiyuddin said, the Cabinet decided to ask Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare an emergency in accordance with Article 150 of the Federal Constitution after taking into consideration the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic in Sabah.

The Batu Sapi by-election was necessitated following the death of incumbent Datuk Liew Vui Keong on Oct 2 due to a lung infection, and the EC had previously set a nomination day for the by-election on Nov 23, polling day on Dec 5 and early voting on Dec 1.

-- BERNAMA