KUALA LUMPUR: THE Election Commission (EC) has refuted claims that it did not consult Pas when deciding the date of the Pengkalan Kubor by-election.
EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof yesterday told the New Sunday Times that the claim made by Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, who is also a Pas committee member, was untrue.
“In fact, I had recently contacted Pas secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali to discuss the matter. In our discussion over the telephone, he told me that Pas’ muktamar (annual general assembly) would be held from Sept 16 to Sept 20.
“Mustafa then asked for the polling day to be held afterwards, to which I agreed,” said Aziz.
On Friday, the EC had set Sept 25 as the polling date for the Pengkalan Kubor (N01) by-election, with nomination taking place on Sept 13.
Later on the same day, Amar had said he was disappointed with the dates chosen and hoped it was not intentionally done to hamper the opposition’s campaign.
He was quoted as saying that this was the second time a by-election was being held during a Pas muktamar, with the first
time happening during the Bukit Selambau state by-election in Kedah in 2009.
“After holding many rounds of discussions, the EC felt it was unwise to delay the by-election any further as it would coincide with the Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations on Oct 5 and 6. If the by-election is pushed further into the middle of October, we will risk breaking the 60-day deadline we are on. We have no intention to hamper anyone’s campaign,” said Aziz.
The by-election was called following the death of its Barisan Nasional candidate, Datuk Noor Zahidi Omar, on Aug 20 due to liver cancer in a hospital in Guangzhou, China. The EC has 60 days after the death of the lawmaker to hold the by-election.