Nominations will be filed for the 10th Sarawak elections on April 6, with the polls to be held on April 16.

NONE This means that there will be a 10-day campaigning period up to midnight on April 15.

Election Commission chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof ( right ) announced the dates from Kuching this morning.

The state assembly was dissolved on Monday for the polls which constitutionally, have to be called before July.

            

National polls do not have to be called until 2013 but a strong result in Sarawak is seen as increasing the likelihood of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak going back to the people this year.

Sarawak BN - headed by chief minister of 30 years Abdul Taib Mahmud - controls 63 of the 71 seats in the state assembly while the opposition controls seven.

One seat is held by a representative of an independent party, Parti Cinta Malaysia.

With the electoral rolls updated up to Dec 31 last year, there are 979,796 eligible voters: 961,433 are ordinary voters while 18,363 are postal voters.

According to a Bernama report, Abdul Aziz reminded the electorates to check their polling centres and streams either through the EC website or via the short message service or by contacting the EC directly.

The EC, he said, would deploy 24,379 election workers and officers including 71 returning officers, to be stationed in 1,740 polling centres and 2,561 polling streams.

azlan The EC is expected to spend RM50 million to conduct the 10th state election, including for logistical needs in the vast state, namely the use of two light aircraft, 24 helicopters, 63 speedboats, 919 longboats and 4,124 four-wheel-drive vehicles.

The EC will also ensure all vote-counting centres are equipped with communications facilities.

"The EC will also ask assistance from police in transporting the ballot boxes, especially in remote areas," he said.

He said the EC would also refer to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) any reports of corruption, saying the MACC was more adept in handling such issues.

"The MACC is given the power to monitor any activities to ensure all allegations (of corrupt practices) are investigated," he said.

The last state election was held on May 20, 2006.

Civil society groups as well as the opposition parties have called for a longer campaigning period in order to balance the advantanges that they say the ruling BN coalition enjoys in terms of logistics and control of the mass media.