[UPDATED] EC to hold special meeting on Oct 20 for GE15, Bugaya by-election

KUALA LUMPUR – The Election Commission (EC) will be holding a special meeting to decide on the key dates for the 15th general election (GE15) and the Bugaya state assembly seat by-election in Sabah next Thursday (October 20).

In a brief statement, EC secretary Datuk Indera Ikmalrudin Ishak said the 10am meeting will be chaired by its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh.

He said the matters to be discussed are the election writ or notice, nomination day, polling day, and the electoral roll, among others.

“A media conference will be held shortly after the meeting,” Indera said.

Election observers earlier predicted that polling day for the upcoming election would likely be in mid-November, despite widespread speculation that it would fall on November 5.

They said the earliest dates for the polls would either be on the 12th or 19th of November, which both fall on a Saturday.

Ismail Sabri announced the dissolution of Parliament yesterday, putting an end to months of speculation over when the Umno-led federal government would call for the general election and making the incumbent Bera MP the shortest-serving prime minister just shy of 14 months.

The Umno vice-president has been under pressure from his party’s top guns to seek a dissolution of Parliament from Yang di-Pertuan Agong by the end of this year, despite pushback from various quarters who want the government to train its focus on the coming monsoon season. – The Vibes, October 11, 2022