THERE will be no by-election following the Federal Court’s decision today to disqualify Ting Tiong Choon as Pujut assemblyman, said Sarawak Speaker Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar.

He said under Article 21(5) of the state constitution, there is no need for him to write to the Election Commission (EC) to notify it about the vacant seat.

The article states, among others, that if a casual vacancy is established on a date within two years of the date the state assembly shall stand dissolved, such a casual vacancy shall not be filled, unless the speaker notifies the EC in writing that the numerical strength of the party that constitutes the majority of all members of the assembly is being affected by the vacancy.

“The need for the speaker to write to the EC does not arise, and without such a notification, (there will be) no by-election,” he told a press conference in Kuching.

A nine-man Federal Court panel ruled that the state assembly was right to disqualify Ting as a rep over his dual citizenship status. – Bernama, February 11, 2020.