Sarawak election for 82 seats if new seats not finalised, says Abang Jo

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg says the next state election is expected to proceed with the existing 82 seats if the proposed addition of 17 new seats is not approved in time by the Election Commission (EC).

Sarawak must hold its state polls by April 2027 at the latest and Abang Johari said there is a distinct possibility that the 17 seats might not be added if the EC’s procedural timeline cannot be met before the dissolution of the state legislative assembly.

The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman said the state government respects the EC’s jurisdiction and acknowledged that the delineation process must adhere to all legal and statutory procedures.

“The entire process takes approximately six to seven months from the initial stages,” he said.

“We will follow the EC’s timeline because our elections are a democratic process that must operate within the established legal framework,” he said in a Sarawak public communication unit report.

On Monday, GPS leader Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah criticised what he described as a lack of urgency in securing Parliament’s endorsement of a proposal to add 17 new seats to the state legislative assembly.

The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu information chief said the proposal only required Parliament’s endorsement as it involved state constituencies and required no changes to parliamentary seats.

He said Parliament had already sat three times since the Sarawak state assembly unanimously approved the motion last July, but no endorsement had been obtained.

Karim’s remarks came after deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said the proposal is unlikely to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat this year.

Fadillah said the matter must go through several processes and procedures under the EC, including public display exercises to allow for objections or feedback.