MIRI – Calls by various parties to lift the emergency on August 1 may not be welcomed in Sarawak as this means the state will have to conduct its election thereafter.
This would put Sarawak in the dilemma of risking serious public health and safety issues during the Covid-19 pandemic to safeguard democratic processes.
The Sarawak Legislative Assembly, whose term had been due on June 6, was allowed to function until August 1 by virtue of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021.
After the emergency is lifted, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Jemut Masing, Sarawak must hold its 12th state elections within 60 days from August 1.
“This means that Sarawakians will have to go to the polls during a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging.
“If the emergency is lifted on August 1, we in Sarawak must hold the 12th state elections by October because the law stipulates that the polls must be held within 60 days from the time of dissolution of the state assembly.
“We are not going to achieve 80% herd immunity by that time.
“Holding the state elections by October will require an act of balancing the practice of democracy and protecting the lives of the people during the pandemic,” the Parti Rakyat Sarawak president said in a statement today.
Masing added that the polls cannot be conducted in the normal way.
“We cannot go back to the pre-Covid way. Nomination and polling cannot be done like before. There must be new safety measures.
“There cannot be any campaigning or face-to-face meetings with the people.
“How the balloting and casting of votes is done will also have to be carefully planned,” he said. – The Vibes, June 17, 2021
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