PETALING JAYA: The Sarawak legislative assembly will be dissolved next Monday, paving the way for the 13th state election to be held within the next 60 days.
Premier Abang Johari Openg said the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, had consented to his request to dissolve the state assembly.
He said the Election Commission would be formally notified of the dissolution and would determine the nomination and polling dates.
"During this period, the government will discharge its responsibilities in a caretaker capacity, observing the applicable constitutional requirements and conventions," he told a press conference in Kuching today.
The dissolution ends months of speculation over when Sarawak will go to the polls. State leaders previously suggested that the election could be held between November and mid-December.
State minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that Dec 12 and 19 would be suitable dates for the election.
The Sarawak assembly would have automatically dissolved in December.
The last state polls were held in December 2021, when GPS won 76 seats. Then opposition party Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) secured four and DAP two.
One PSB assemblyman, See Chee How (Batu Lintang), later left the party to become an independent and voiced support for Abang Johari.
PSB subsequently dissolved, with its leaders and members joining the Progressive Democratic Party, a GPS component, en masse.
The assembly currently comprises 79 GPS assemblymen, one independent who supports the government, and two DAP assemblymen in the opposition.