COMMENT | Sarawak polls only after the emergency?

COMMENT | The 12th Sarawak State Election was due this year but a localised emergency was declared in August to stop the polls due to the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

The six-month emergency was declared for the period from Aug 2 to Feb 2 next year, but Sarawak leaders had said then that if the health situation improves, there is nothing to stop the state election from taking place within this period.

This will require the emergency to be lifted.

However, the date of the election is still clouded in uncertainty although it is almost certain that D-Day is between now and 60 days after Feb 22 next year. I suppose that is the safest speculative ‘date’, since it is impossible to nail a definite one.

As it stands now, no one really knows what the exact election date is, not even Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg. And he is the one with the power to call for fresh polls.

Last month, talk in Kuching was that Abang Johari was keen to call for elections before the year is over, meaning a likely December date.

He is believed to have...