Article 113 empowers EC to conduct redelineation exercise – Wan Junaidi

(Bernama) – Article 113 of the Federal Constitution empowers the Election Commission (EC) to conduct a redelineation of electoral boundaries of each constituency, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

According to him, under Clause (6) of Article 113 of the Federal Constitution, there shall be separate reviews for the states of Malaya (including the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya) as well as Sabah and Sarawak.

“If it is in pursuant to Clause (2) of Article 113 of the Federal Constitution, the EC can conduct the redelineation exercise once every eight years from the last date of completion of the previous exercise.

“However, the EC will have to implement it within two years,” he said during the Ministers’ Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question from Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) who wanted to know whether the government has plans to increase the number of constituencies or for a redelineation of electoral boundaries, after the large increase in the number of voters in the third quarter of 2021.

Wan Junaidi said for that purpose, the eight-year period to conduct a redelineation exercise in Sarawak would be in 2023, Sabah in 2025 and for other states in 2026.

He said it also involved amendments to the law and the EC would have to conduct the redelineation exercise within two years from the date the amendments took effect.

He also said that each voter would vote based on the designated constituency but the number of voters in a constituency which is more or less the same also takes into account factors such as communication, transportation, demographics and geography.