ARAU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak can call for the dissolution of Parliament without the need to wait for the Election Commission’s (EC) redelineation exercise to complete.
EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah said, should such a situation occur, the old election boundaries would be used in the 14th General Election (GE14).
He said the redelineation exercise and the election are two different matters.
“This means that the prime minister can opt not to bring the redelineation issue to parliament, but call for parliament’s dissolution. When that happens, the old boundaries will be used.
“We have to understand that the election does not hinge on the redelineation. Even if it is not completed, we can still continue after the election,” he told reporters after opening the ‘Jom Kita Semak’ and ‘Jom Kita Undi’ national-level campaign at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) here today.
The event also included a briefing on the election process for media practitioners in the northern states.
Mohd Hashim said if the prime minister tables the redelineation motion and it is approved, and receives the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, then the new polling boundary will be used.
He said, should the redelineation motion be approved, it only needs a day to be gazetted after obtaining the King’s consent.
On another subject, Mohd Hashim said the EC had never made any changes to the ballot-counting process, as alleged by some quarters.
He said, several quarters had claimed that in the past, ballot-counting was done twice, with parliamentary and state seat votes counted separately.
“We have been using the same system all this while. There have been no changes.
“Our message is simple. If you have problems, send your agents (to the polling centres to witness the ballot-counting). If you feel the need to send two people, please do so. Don’t just send one.”