17 new state seats in S’wak unlikely to be contested at next polls, says EC chief

The 17 new state seats proposed for Sarawak are unlikely to be in place for the next state polls, Election Commission (EC) chairman Ramlan Harun said today.

He said the review of the electoral boundaries for the seats would extend beyond February 2027, when the term of the Sarawak government expires.

“Based on the process we need to go through, I expect we will not be able to use the new seats in the next state election,” he told reporters after visiting the exhibition venue for the proposed Sarawak electoral boundary review at the Kuching North City Hall here.

In July, the Sarawak legislative assembly passed the State Legislative Assembly (Composition of Members) Bill 2025 to add 17 new seats, which would bring the total number of seats from 82 to 99.

Ramlan said the EC had received 18 objections so far to the proposed electoral boundary review for Sarawak, involving issues such as changes to polling district centres.

“There were also several objections concerning the names of certain state constituencies in Sarikei, Bintulu and Sibu. We will assess and examine these matters in greater detail later,” he said.