KUCHING: The upcoming 13th Sarawak State Election (PRN) is expected to utilise the 82 existing Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats if the process of adding 17 new seats is not finalised according to the procedures set by the Election Commission (SPR).

Sarawak Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg, stated that the state government accepts that the process of adding seats falls under the jurisdiction of the SPR and must go through every established procedure before it can be implemented.

According to him, although the Sarawak DUN has passed the Bill related to the addition of the seats, the process still needs to undergo public exhibitions, reviews of public feedback, and other procedures managed by the SPR.

"It takes about seven months if from the early months, seven or six months. So we defer to the SPR because our election is a democratic process, it must follow the legal framework under the SPR.

"If the timeframe is so tight, we will see when we hold the election and when our mandate ends, and we will assess the situation," he said.

He said this when met by reporters after the Handover Ceremony of the Construction Fund for the Sri Satok Senior Citizens Activity Centre (PAWE) Building at the Datuk Amar Hajah Juma’ani Welfare Centre here on Sunday.

Elaborating further, he acknowledged the possibility that the addition of the 17 new seats might not be implemented in the next Sarawak PRN if the processes set by the SPR cannot be completed in time.

According to him, this situation would not affect the conduct of the election, as the PRN can still be held using the 82 existing DUN seats.

At the same time, he hopes that the expansion to 99 DUN seats can be realized as soon as all related procedures are finalized.

He also emphasised that the state government's priority is to ensure political stability and the continuity of the development agenda for the well-being of the people.

The 13th Sarawak PRN is scheduled to take place by February 2027 at the latest, when the term of the current DUN expires.— UKASnews

Prepared by: Ahmad Daniel Faiz
Photos by: Muhd Zulfadhli Ahmad Sharir
Translator: Ryan Lim