PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) has not received a court order on Datuk Seri Anifah Aman’s intention to apply for a re-hearing, after his appeal against the Federal Court’s decision on Dec 2 to uphold the Election Court’s ruling nullifying his victory in the election for the Kimanis parliamentary seat.
EC chairman Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun (pix) said under the law and according to the court ruling, a court order will be valid and must be upheld until it is set aside by the highest court or there is an order to suspend the ruling.
“At the moment, we do not have any order to suspend or set aside the ruling that was made, so we will continue the proceedings as required under the law,” he told reporters after a press conference on the management of the Kimanis parliamentary by-election here today.
The EC today set the date for the by-election for the Kimanis parliamentary seat in Sabah for Jan 18, while nomination day is on Jan 4.
Asked if the by-election will be held if Anifah appealed again, Azhar said this depended on what the court decides and the order it issued.
“So far, there are no order, so we will continue because under the constitution, there are only 60 days from Dec 10, 2019, to fill the vacancy in parliament. So we must have the election and resolve the matter within 60 days before Feb 7, 2020,” he said. — Bernama
