THE Election Commission (EC) does not expect its proposed redelineation of 17 Sarawak state seats to be completed in time for the next state election, its chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said.
He said the Sarawak Legislative Assembly would reach the end of its term in February and the remaining stages of the redelineation exercise would leave insufficient time for the proposals to be finalised and implemented before the election.
“The term of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly ends in February. So, based on the work process that we need to go through, I do not expect us to be able to use this redelineation exercise for the upcoming state election,” he told reporters after inspecting the exhibition on the proposed redelineation of Sarawak state constituencies with EC officers in Kuching today.
Ramlan said the EC had received 18 online representations or objections to the proposed boundaries since the public display began on Sept 1.
He said the objections came from across Sarawak, with most involving proposals to transfer polling districts from one state constituency to another.
“There are also several objections concerning the names of state constituencies and other related matters, which we will examine and assess in detail,” he said.
He said Sarikei, Bintulu and Sibu were among the areas where objections had been received, although the EC had yet to compile a detailed breakdown of all 18 representations by constituency.
Ramlan added the EC considered several principles when drawing up the proposed boundaries, including the number of voters, geographical factors and local ties.
However, he said these principles could not be applied uniformly because each constituency had its own characteristics and circumstances.
On whether the proposed 17-seat redelineation could change following the objection and hearing processes, Ramlan said the EC could not determine this at present as it would depend on the information and views received.
“If amendments or changes to the original proposal are required, we will implement them. That will be based on the information we receive later,” he said.
The public display will run until Sept 30, followed by hearings in October. The subsequent process is expected to begin in November before the proposals are brought to Parliament.
On the possibility of a separate review of Sarawak’s parliamentary constituencies, Ramlan said this would depend on any constitutional amendments agreed by the government following developments related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said a parliamentary redelineation exercise would not necessarily have to wait for the state constituency review to be completed, as it would depend on the constitutional amendments.
The EC has separately said it will review electoral boundaries, subject to amendments to the Federal Constitution, following the proposal to increase parliamentary representation for Sabah and Sarawak. - September 24, 2026
