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Thursday February 14, 2008

EC will meet and decide nomination and polling dates today

By V.P SUJATA and MAZWIN NIK ANIS

PUTRAJAYA: The wait is over. Parliament was dissolved yesterday, paving the way for the country’s 12th general election.

Malaysians will be asked to give a fresh mandate to the government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who pledged to continue with his development plans to lift the country to even greater heights.

The Election Commission (EC) will meet today to decide on the nomination and polling dates.

Set to roll: Election Commission workers Mohd Syahaizanzubir Adnan, 24 (right) and Mohd Shukri Salleh preparing the ballot boxes and posters at the Perak Election Commission office in Ipoh. – SAIFUL BAHRI / The Star
Abdullah, who will lead the Barisan Nasional into the election for a second time, said Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin had given his consent for Parliament's dissolution.

The King, whom Abdullah met yesterday morning, signed the declaration on the dissolution as provided for under Article 55 of the Federal Constitution.

“The EC will fix nomination and polling dates accordingly,” he told a packed press conference yesterday.

Also present was Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The assemblies of all states except for Sarawak were also dissolved yesterday after the mentris besar and chief ministers sought consent from their respective rulers.

Sarawak held its state election last year.

The Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting will be held at 9.30am today followed by the Umno supreme council meeting at 11am.

Both are expected to discuss election issues.

During the press conference, Abdullah also explained why he could not commit himself on the exact date of the dissolution of Parliament, saying he had to seek the King’s consent first.

“How can I give a statement or give any indication?

“The most important thing is for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be informed (of the dissolution date) and for him to give his consent,” he said.

Asked if he had picked Feb 13 to dissolve the Parliament as it was said to be his favourite number, the Prime Minister said this was not the issue.

“The most important thing is the King consented to this date,” he said.

He added that the dissolution of Parliament during the Chinese New Year period would not affect celebrations or activities that the Chinese community had already planned.

Abdullah said there was nothing wrong with holding the general election 15 months earlier than the deadline and expressed confidence that it would not be a problem for the Barisan.

“I believe by getting a strong mandate from the people, we will be able to continue our efforts to bring about development to the country and prosperity to the rakyat.

“We are hoping for strong support by getting at least a two-thirds majority. What happened in the 2004 general election was a special record,” he said.

Meanwhile, the EC held several meetings at its office in Putrajaya to finalise arrangements for the nomination and polling dates.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said:

“We have got the declaration on the dissolution of Parliament by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the announcement of nomination and polling will be done tomorrow.”

When asked if nomination day was set for Feb 21 and polling on March 2, he said:

“You can speculate anything you want. The official announcement is tomorrow (today).”

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