EC to meet on June 28 over Nenggiri by-election

PETALING JAYA: The Election Commission (EC) has received notice of the Nenggiri seat in Kelantan being vacated and will hold a special by-election meeting on June 28, says its secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak.

In a statement on Wednesday (June 19), the EC said the sudden declaration of the seat being vacated would need further discussion as the law dictates that the seat has to be filled 60 days from the date the commission is notified by the Speaker.

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“The EC has received an official notice from Kelantan Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah on the issue of the sudden vacating of state seat N43 Nenggiri, following the incumbent Mohd Azizi Abu Naim having his membership revoked by Bersatu on June 13.

“As accorded under Clause (3) Article 31A of the Kelantan state constitution, the vacant seat must be filled in within 60 days from the date EC receives notice of the vacancy.

“In line with that, a special by-election meeting will be held on June 28 to discuss the by-election. A media conference will be held after the special meeting,” Ikmalrudin said in the statement.

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Earlier on Wednesday, Mohd Amar declared the Nenggiri seat vacant after the state assembly received written notice under clause (3) of Article 31A of the state constitution from Azizi on June 13 and a notice from Bersatu that his membership had been revoked.

”Therefore, I declare in accordance with Clause 1, Article 31A that there is an unexpected vacancy in the Nenggiri state seat represented by Azizi," said Amar.

Nenggiri is one of the three state seats in the parliamentary constituency of Gua Musang, the other two being Paloh and Galas.