Penang seeks judicial review of EC’s redelineation exercise

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has filed for a judicial review against the Election Commission’s (EC) redelineation proposals in Penang.

Lawyer Leong Cheok Keng, who was appointed by the state to file the suit at the Penang High Court, said there were 18 reliefs sought against the EC, who is the sole respondent in the case.

“We have a long affidavit of 24 exhibits to support this application,” he told a press conference in Komtar here yesterday.

Leong said one of the grounds for the suit was a presence of malapportionment in the redelineation exercise, where several state and parliamentary constituencies in Penang had large differences in the number of voters.

Leong said the state would be applying to the courts to prevent the EC’s recommendations for the redelineation exercise from being submitted to the Prime Minister and Parliament.

“We are seeking a declaration that these recommendations are unconstitutional,” he said.