JOHOR BARU: The Election Commission will hold a meeting on Aug 13 to decide on the date for a by-election for the Mahkota state seat.
EC secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak said the commission had been notified on the vacancy by the Johor state assembly Speaker Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi yesterday, following the death of incumbent Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zaid on Aug 2.
He said it was stated in the Johor State Constitution that a vacancy in a seat must be filled within 60 days after the EC was notified.
“In line with this, a special meeting with be held to decide on matters to hold a by-election for the seat. This will be followed by a press conference,” he said yesterday.
Earlier, Mohd Puad said that the Johor state assembly had notified the EC on the vacancy of the Mahkota state seat.
Sharifah Azizah passed away at the age of 64 after being hospitalised for three days for breathing difficulties.
The mother of four was also the Kluang Umno Wanita chief since 1993 and the daughter of the late Datuk Syed Zain Al Shahab, who was a Johor Speaker.
Sharifah Azizah won the Mahkota seat in the 2022 state polls in a four-cornered fight against Pakatan Harapan’s Taqiuddin Cheman, Mohamad Nor Lingan (Bersatu) and Mohamed Noor Suleiman from Parti Warisan. She won the seat with a 5,166 majority.
Prior to that, Sharifah Azizah was the Penawar assemblyman, having won the seat in the 2018 general election.
