THE Sarawak Election Commission has given assurance that all political parties in this state will be consulted before any new electoral boundaries are confirmed.
Sarawak Pakatan Harapan information chief Senator Abun Sui Anyit said he received this assurance from the EC top brass in the state.
Sui, a lawyer from Sarawak PKR, said no new electoral constituencies for parliamentary constituencies or state constituencies have been confirmed as yet.
He told The Vibes he met the Sarawak EC director, Abang Norrafian Abang Ibrahim, out of concern over recent news of redelineation taking shape following requests from state ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
"The director told me and our state PKR delegation that no new constituencies at parliamentary or state level have been confirmed as yet.
"We told the EC that there must not be any confirmation of new constituencies or delineation of electoral boundaries without consultation with every registered political party in Sarawak," Sui said.
He said the EC will hold dialogue sessions with all political parties in Sarawak before any new constituencies can be confirmed.
"The boundaries for new constituencies cannot be just based on proposals from the Gabungan Parti Sarawak even though it is the ruling state government.
"We in Sarawak Pakatan are also stakeholders, along with all registered political parties. We must be given a say," he said.
Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing had earlier said the creation of new electoral constituencies in Sarawak for parliamentary seats and state assembly seats should be completed by the end of this year.
"By end of this year, we expect Sarawak to get these new constituencies. Will the voters in these new seats vote for us (GPS)?
"We will have to work very hard. When there are more seats, we must provide more quality service to the rakyat," Tiong had said.
Sarawak currently has 31 parliamentary constituencies and 82 state assembly seats. – June 14, 2024.
