The Election Commission (EC) fixed Feb 26 for nomination day for the Merlimau state seat by-election, and if there is a contest, polling will be on March 6.
EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the EC had received official notification from the Melaka State Assembly Speaker on Jan 21 concerning the vacancy in the Merlimau state seat following the death of the incumbent Assemblyman, Datuk Mohamad Hidhir Abu Hassan on the previous day.
"Subsequently, the EC had held a special meeting on the matter tonight and decided that a by-election must be held within 60 days of the date of the vacancy," he said in a statement, released here tonight.
Abdul Aziz said the EC, had also agreed to appoint a Returning Officer and three Assistant Returning Officers to undertake the by-election.
The Returning Officer appointed was Roslan Eusoff, who is also the Jasin District Officer.
He said the register of voters for the electoral constituency would be made available for sale from Feb 11, 2011.
Voters for the electoral constituency can also check the Voters Register to find out about their polling centre and polling stream from the EC website (www.spr.gov.my) and via SMS.
In addition, voters can also call the EC Headquarters in Putrajaya (03-8885 6500) and the Melaka State Election Office (06-2824124).
Mohamad Hidhir, 54, died on Jan 20 following a heart attack.
In the 2008 general election, he beat the PAS candidate, Jasme Tompang with a majority of 2,154 votes.
The electoral roll to be used for the by-election is the Master Voters Register 2009 for the constituency which had been updated up to Jan 20, 2011.
The Voter Register contains 10,679 registered voters comprising 10,643 ordinary voters and 36 postal voters.
Abdul Aziz said the Nomination Centre as well as the Vote Tallying Centre for the Merlimau by-election would be the Dewan Platinum Politeknik Merlimau.
"Seven schools will be used as Polling Centres with a total of 21 Voting Streams."
"A total of 248 election workers will be appointed to handle the by-election which is estimated to require a total budget of RM830,000," he said.
