Sabah Polls Fixed For Sept 26 Nominations On Sept 12

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The Election Commission has fixed Sept 26 for the Sabah state election while nominations will be held on Sept 12
This was announced by the commission after meeting returning officers in Magellan Sutera Resort, Kota Kinabalu, this evening
The campaigning period will last 14 days. Early voting will be held on Sept 22
The voter list being used was updated as of July 29
Deputy EC chief Azmi Sharom promised that the commission will continue its practice of broadcasting the counting phase live
He also urged interested election observers to register with the EC for accreditation
To a question, Azmi said the commission has to proceed with the election regardless of the ongoing judicial review on the validity of Sabah governor Juhar Mahiruddin's decision to dissolve the legislative assembly on July 30
"The commission has not received any instructions from the court. For now, we have to proceed with the election," he added
Earlier today, the Kota Kinabalu High Court had adjourned proceedings for the judicial review brought by 33 Sabah lawmakers to nullify the dissolution
On Friday, the court will hear submissions on whether the matter was justiciable and possibly decide on an injunction against the dissolution
Meanwhile, the EC urged candidates to fill in their nomination forms and submit their deposit at the returning officer's office before nomination day to make the process more efficient
However, the nomination forms must still be submitted by the nominator and seconder on nomination day
Voter cards would be handed out to all 1,124,598 voters which will include suggested voting times and safety information to prevent the spread of Covid-19
Azmi added that the EC will apply lessons on preventing the spread of Covid-19 learned from the Slim and Chini by-elections
The Slim polls will be held on Aug 29 while the Chini by-election was held on July 4. There were no known Covid-19 cases that had been attributed to the Slim by-election so far. - Mkini

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