KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim filed a suit against the Election Commission (EC) today in his final bid to be allowed to vote in the Permatang Pauh poll, which is less than 24 hours away.
“And Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is seeking compensation because his constitutional and legal rights have been violated,” he told reporters at the court complex here after filing the originating summons.
The originating summons filed today is against the EC, EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and the government of Malaysia.
In his affidavit to support his lawsuit, Anwar said he was registered as a voter in the Permatang Pauh constituency before his imprisonment, further claiming that the parties he was suing had infringed his constitutional rights by denying him his voting rights.
In claiming that the respondents had acted against the Federal Constitution’s Article 119, Anwar noted among other things that both the EC and EC chairman have yet to respond to his April 30 letter of demand to seek confirmation of his voting rights.
On April 27 and April 29, EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof reportedly said that the currently imprisoned Anwar cannot cast his ballot as he is disqualified under Article 119(3)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
Previously, Surendran said Aziz cannot disregard Anwar’s right to vote as the PKR leader had registered before he was jailed, citing Article 119(3)(a) and 119(4)(b) of the Federal Constitution.
When read together, the two provisions state that a person can be disqualified from voting if he or she is jailed at the time of registration.
The Permatang Pauh seat fell vacant after Anwar was given a five-year jail term for his second sodomy conviction on February 10 and subsequently disqualified as a lawmaker.
PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also Anwar’s wife, is locked in a four-corner fight for the Permatang Pauh federal seat.
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