A by-election will not be held for the Bukit Assek state seat in Sarawak following the death of the elected representative because the vacancy has happened within two years of the end of the term of the state assembly, the Election Commission (EC) said today.

Article 54(1) of the federal constitution stated that a by-election had to be held only in the first three-year period of the term of parliament or a state assembly, explained EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

Bukit Assek state assemblyperson Wong Ho Leng, 54, of the DAP, died of brain cancer last Saturday at the Rejang Medical Centre in Sibu, Sarawak.

“The current term of the Sarawak state assembly ends on June 20, 2016. However, the chief minister can call the next state election even before that date,” Abdul Aziz told reporters at the EC 2014 Innovation Day and 2013 Excellence Service Awards presentation in Putrajaya.

Wong, who was the chairperson of Sarawak DAP, won the seat in the state election in 2011 by beating Chieng Huong Toon of the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Independent candidate Hii Tiong Huat with a majority of 8,827 votes.

- Bernama