BUKIT MERTAJAM: PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is not qualified to vote in the upcoming Permatang Pauh by-election on May 7.
Election Commission (EC) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the Federal Constitution did not allow prison inmates to vote in the election.
"The EC would like to clarify that under Article 119(3)(a) of the Federal Constitution, a person will lose his or her rights to vote if on the date of the eligibility he or she has been apprehended as a person of unsound mind or is currently serving a sentence of imprisonment," Aziz said in a statement today.
He said the person also loses his right to vote if he or she had been convicted of an offense in any part of the Commonwealth and was punishable with death or imprisonment for a term exceeding 12 months and on the qualifying date was still liable to undergo any punishment for that offense.
"Hence, as Anwar is still imprisoned, the EC does not have the power to ensure that he could be granted leave to vote in the Permatang Pauh by-election.
"In that regard, the EC will only perform our duties and responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of the existing jurisdiction for all voters," he added.
On Sunday, PKR vice president, who is also Anwar's daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, had urged the Home Ministry to allow for her father to be granted leave from prison to vote in the by-election.
Permatang Pauh by-election is being held after Anwar, was disqualified as an MP after the Pardons Board rejected a petition for a royal pardon for his sodomy conviction against his former aide in 2008.
Anwar is currently serving a five-year sentence in the Sungai Buloh prison.