The Election Commission (EC) has fixed May 7 as the polling date for the Sarawak state election.

Nomination for the 82 seats up for grabs will be held on April 25.

This was announced by EC chief Mohd Hashim Abdullah during a press conference in Kuching this morning.

"We have considered all aspects, including avoiding (holding the election on) any public holiday," Hashim said.

Asked if the EC is colluding with the state BN government, he said, "No, there was no communication (with the state government)."

When asked why Chief Minister Adenan Satem said that April 25 is the nomination day at a press conference yesterday, Hashim said: "The chief minister was speculating on a date.

"We held a special meeting. If you heard any dates, it's all projections," he told reporters after chairing a special meeting of the EC on the Sarawak elections today.

A total of 1,138,650 registered voters, including 25,022 army and police personnel, are eligible to cast their ballots. This is based on the polling list the EC released on April 10.