KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has just announced the dissolution of Parliament effective today, nine months ahead of the end of its full term.
Ismail Sabri’s announcement was televised live just after 3pm in a special address from the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya.
A snap general election will now be held within 60 days of the dissolution, and the Election Commission will meet to set the date.
It is widely speculated, however, that the 15th general election (GE15) could be held in early November to avoid the peak of the year-end monsoon season.
In the 2013 and 2018 general elections, the precedence was to hold polls one month after Parliament’s dissolution.
Ismail Sabri said in his announcement that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had given royal consent to the dissolution of the 14th Parliament.
The prime minister had an audience with the Agong yesterday before his majesty left for an official visit to London until October 16.
He said he had presented the instruments of dissolution at the meeting, and that the king had consented to the request, in accordance with the federal constitution.
“I urge the heads of state governments, except Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka, and Johor, to also make the appropriate move to dissolve their respective legislative assemblies at the same time as Parliament, even though several states have decided they will not dissolve their assemblies.
“It is appropriate to conduct the dissolution simultaneously so as not to burden the people, besides ensuring the democratic process and to save costs,” Ismail Sabri said.
He also said that the EC would set the dates for candidate nominations and polling day, and decide other matters pertaining to the general election.
Ismail Sabri had also held his last cabinet meeting on October 7.
His government had tabled the national budget for 2023 later on the same day.
Ismail Sabri, who had been prime minister for just over 14 months, has been under months of immense pressure from his party Umno to hold snap elections. This also makes him the prime minister with the shortest tenure.
Despite being prime minister, the Bera incumbent does not head Umno and is only a vice-president, putting him in the awkward position of balancing party demands and larger government concerns.
His party lost the government to Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 14th general election in 2018, but returned to power in March 2020 through the Sheraton Move with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalitions.
Ismail Sabri rose to helm the country in August last year, succeeding PN’s Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who lasted 17 months before the government again changed hands a third time after Umno MPs pulled support from Muhyiddin.
Barisan Nasional, where Umno is the linchpin party, currently has only 19% of seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
There are 222 parliamentary seats up for contest in GE15. – The Vibes, October 10, 2022
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