THE Shah Alam High Court will decide on Monday whether the Semenyih by-election will proceed, following an originating summons filed by a voter to stop the Election Commission from holding the March 2 polls.

Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah made the decision in chambers after meeting the plaintiff and defendants this morning.

On February 12, Sabariah Mohd Shariff named EC chairman Azhar Azizan Harun and the federal government as defendants in the summons, filed through Messrs Azam Aziz Shaharudinali & Co.

She said she decided to file the summons after the question of whether the EC is a constitutional body became a hot topic on social media.

“Komathy Suppiah will give an answer this Monday at 9.30am,” said lawyer Shaharudin Ali, representing the plaintiff.

“We were told that Komathy Suppiah will study the matter over the weekend.”

He said the EC was not yet lawfully constituted on January 18, when Azhar announced the date for the Semenyih by-election.

“The EC was not lawfully constituted. The entire function of the EC was essentially Azhar. The other commissioners were not yet appointed.

“The defendants argued that Azhar has the power to decide, and a commissioner is equivalent to seven other commissioners.

“We totally oppose this.

“Each of us was given more or less 20 minutes to state our arguments.” – February 22, 2019.