BUTTERWORTH: Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pic) has dispelled the notion of Penang’s next state polls being held concurrently with the 16th general election, saying this is unlikely due to the already disrupted electoral cycles.
He explained that “practical challenges” remained despite the cost-saving appeal of holding state and parliamentary elections simultaneously.
“The calendars have already been disrupted, hence it is difficult to synchronise national and state elections,” he said.
“For a state like Penang, which has another two-and-a-half years (before the term ends), it is too early to dissolve (the state assembly).
“So this is the type of issue hindering concurrent national and state elections,” he said yesterday.
The last general election took place on Nov 19, 2022.
However, six states – Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, which were run by Pakatan Harapan, and the PAS-held states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu – decided not to dissolve their state assemblies then.
One of the reasons given was that they wanted to avoid the north-east monsoon season which could affect voter turnout.
PAS also said then that it wanted to strengthen cooperation within Perikatan Nasional.
These six states subsequently went to the polls on Aug 12, 2023.
Based on the five-year term limit, this means these six states can choose to hold their state elections in 2028.
Chow, who is also Penang Pakatan Harapan chairman, noted that coordinating elections nationwide would require consensus from all states, some of which would have to shorten their current terms significantly.
“Unless all states agree, it is not fair to the constituents,” he said.
Asked whether Penang would eventually align its next state election with the next national election, he said that would depend on the coalition members.
“We will wait for the parties’ decision,” he said.
Asked whether Penang DAP would assist in the Johor state election, he said the party would send its election machinery to support its counterparts there.
“I think we will deploy our election workers to Johor to assist in whatever way possible,” he said.
The Johor state assembly was dissolved on Monday, paving the way for a state election that must be held within 60 days.
Johor’s previous state election was held on March 12, 2022.
The snap poll in 2022 came about when the Barisan Nasional state administration saw its majority in the state assembly reduced to only one seat following the death of an assemblyman.
Back then, the state ruling coalition had 28 seats while Pakatan held 27 seats in the 56-seat assembly.
