PETALING JAYA: No approvals for redelineation in any states in Malaysia have been made by the Election Commission (EC), says its deputy chairperson Dr Azmi Shahrom.
Any increase in the number of parliamentary seats in the Dewan Rakyat can only happen if there is an amendment to the Federal Constitution, he said.
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This means that it is unlikely for any increase in the number of federal seats by the next general election or an increase of seats in any states in the next two years.
The last review of federal seats took place in 2018, just before the 14th General Election.
The first session of Parliament after last year’s 15th General Election was on Dec 19, 2022, which means Parliament will automatically dissolve on Dec 19, 2027, if it runs its full term.
A recent media report cited Gabungan Parti Sarawak sources as claiming that Sarawak may get a minimum of 12 more parliamentary seats.
“As of today, the EC has not given any approval nor held any meeting on a redelineation exercise in any states in the peninsula or Sabah and Sarawak.
“If there is going to be an increase in parliamentary seats, there has to be constitutional amendments passed in Parliament and that has not happened,” said Azmi.
He explained that the current EC comprises six commissioners whose top three roles are conducting elections, maintaining the electoral roll, and drawing electoral boundaries.
On Nov 8, the then deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh told the Dewan Rakyat that the redelineation of electoral boundaries had begun in Sarawak.
He said the exercise would be carried out in Sabah in 2025, and peninsular states in 2026.
Constitutional expert Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun said any redelineation of state and parliamentary constituencies is governed by Article 113 of the Federal Constitution, be it for federal or state seats.
He said politicians may talk of giving or getting more seats for a certain state but constitutionally, it is only the EC which will be able to tell how many seats will be provided for once the redelineation process is completed.
The former Dewan Rakyat speaker explained that according to the Constitution, a redelineation process can only begin not less than eight years from the date of the last review and once started, the whole process must be completed within two years.
“A redelineation, whether for the federal or state constituencies, is done wholly by the EC and governed by the Federal Constitution, not state constitutions.
“With the last review in 2018, this means that the next redelineation can only commence in 2026,” said Azhar.
The word “commence”, he noted, means to start work, gathering data and studying the density, among others.
“Once commenced, the exercise must be completed within a period of not more than two years. Practically, the process of redelineation will take 10 years from the last review,” he added.
Based on the current timetable, it is unlikely that a new redelineation exercise can be completed, much less approved, before GE16.
Azhar pointed out that the time frame in the Federal Constitution is to ensure the redelineation is done fairly as data that is relied on for the process changes.
“This is why once commenced, EC must complete it within two years. Should it take longer, it will be deemed unconstitutional.”
He said there are also specific reasons why a redelineation is allowed and should it be done for the sole benefit of certain parties, it will lead to gerrymandering, which is illegal.
“The EC is an independent body and redelineation does not involve politicians or political parties. The latter may be engaged, along with other agencies or authorities, for the sake of gathering data, but not in redrawing constituency boundaries.”
The redelineation process starts with the gazetting of a notice under Section 4(a) of the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution. In essence, this is the constitutional method of announcing to the country or state that the EC has made recommendations to redelineate the electoral boundaries.
This notice must be published in at least one newspaper circulating in the constituency.
Sarawak last conducted a redelineation in 2015, making it due for a redelineation this year should there be a need.
Sabah is due for a redelineation in 2025 and peninsular states will only be able to conduct the exercise in 2026 if the EC approves.
