EC says needs time to fix nominations, polls dates

The Election Commission (EC) requires time to prepare before the 13th general election can be held, its chairman said as the prime minister announced the dissolution of Parliament today.
Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the election regulator must be formally notified before it can set the dates for nominations of candidates and polling.
“After the dissolution of the Dewan Rakyat, (and) the state legislative assemblies, the EC must wait for the official letters from the Dewan Rakyat Speaker and the Speakers of the DUN to ensure the Dewan Rakyat and the DUN are legitimately dissolved.
“After receiving all those letters, the EC will call all members of the commission for a meeting to determine the date for nomination of candidates, the campaign period and polling day,” Abdul Aziz said.
“The EC also needs time for preparation, many papers need to be prepared.”
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the dissolution of the Dewan Rakyat live over national television at 11.30am, paving the way for Malaysia’s 13th general election.
A total of 222 federal seats and 505 state seats will be contested in Election 2013.
Politicians from the ruling Barisan Nasional and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat have both been talking up their chances for a bigger win than they had scored in Election 2008.