P. Pauh vacancy to be announced after receiving note from Dewan Rakyat Speaker

Its chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said that only the Election Commission has the authority to make the announcement.

"The Election Commission will announce important dates for the by-election within ten days after the seat becomes vacant," he told Bernama, here today.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Permatang Pauh.

The Federal Court today upheld the Court of Appeal's decision to convict and jail Anwar for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The decision was delivered by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria who led a five-member panel of judges.

Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution says that an MP can be disqualified if he is jailed more than one year or fined more than RM2,000 by the court.

Abdul Aziz said with the Federal Court's decision, Anwar is deemed to have been disqualified as an MP according to the Federal Constitution.

"However, the Election Commission cannot declare the seat as vacant until we receive a note from the Dewan Rakyat Speaker."

He added Anwar can only contest in the election five years after his release from prison.