PETALING JAYA: The election for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat will be postponed as the returning officer (RO) is said to have returned the writ to the Election Commission (EC), a mandatory requirement if polling for any seat cannot be held for some reason after nominations.
According to sources, it was returned today which means the election for the seat has to be postponed to another date to be set by the EC.
The commission meets tomorrow to announce fresh dates for nomination and election following the death of Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate M Karupaiya yesterday.
Under the Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981, Regulation 11(6) states that the EC can call for a by-election on a separate date in the event a nominated candidate dies.
This can only be done after the RO endorses the reasons for the inability to hold the election on the reverse of the writ issued to him and return it to the EC.
Meanwhile, voters in Padang Serai who did checks on the EC’s MySemak portal have been informed that the parliamentary poll for the constituency has been postponed following the death of one of the candidates.
FMT reached out to several voters whose checks confirmed this information at the bottom of their information slot. It says: “The 15th general election for P017 Padang Serai has been postponed because of the death of a candidate.”
Two voters who cast their votes on Tuesday also had the same note when they checked on MySemak.
Earlier, Azalina Othman Said, a former law minister, contended that the Padang Serai election could continue as early voting had already commenced on Nov 7 and Nov 15 for members of the police and the armed forces as well as their spouses.
Most EC staff and government officers working as polls clerks on Saturday have also voted early.
Responding to her, PH secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Azalina’s view was “unreasonable and wrong in the principle of law”.
“The argument that early voting had begun is not a valid excuse as fresh ballots can be issued and fresh voting is feasible. To ensure fairness and uniformity to all candidates and political parties, this principle must strictly apply to all.”
He said her comment was unjustified as it deprived Padang Serai voters their fundamental rights to choose their candidate, and PH’s choice to nominate one.
When contacted by FMT, the BN candidate for Padang Serai C Sivarraajh said nothing was official yet. “I will wait for the EC to make an official statement.” - FMT
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