PUTRAJAYA - Election Commission (EC) chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun has confirmed that no by-elections will be held for the Pandan and Setiawangsa parliamentary seats.
He said the matter was based on Article 54(1) of the Federal Constitution, whereby Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Dr Johari Abdul had informed the EC that there was no necessity to fill the casual vacancies.
"In line with that, no by-election for the P.100 Pandan and P.118 Setiawangsa parliamentary constituencies will be held,” he said in a statement today.
He said the EC received notification from Johari through a letter dated today regarding the status of the two parliamentary seats after they were declared vacant under Article 51 of the Federal Constitution.
On Sunday (May 17), Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, who is also a former PKR deputy president, and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, a former PKR vice-president, announced that they would vacate their parliamentary seats on Monday and leave the party effective Tuesday through letters submitted to the party secretary-general.
They subsequently took over Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), a small political party based in Penang. - BERNAMA