SEREMBAN, Sept 26 — The Election Commission will hold discussions soon with political party representatives including the opposition, to decide on whether 18-year-old candidates can be allowed to stand in the upcoming by-election for the Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat.

EC chairman Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun said today that following the engagement with the representatives on the matter, an announcement would be made.

He added that if the matter was approved, the by-election would be historic as it would the first election in the country to feature 18-year-old candidates.

Azhar said this to reporters after the launch of the Voting Education Society (VES) at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Seremban here.

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On the matter of 18-year-old voters, he clarified that they were still not allowed to vote in view of the fact that legislation allowing for the same which had been passed by Parliament on July 16, had not yet been gazetted as time was needed for certain arrangements, such as the establishment of an automatic voter registration system, to be put into place.

The Tanjung Piai seat became vacant following the death of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Member of Parliament (MP) and deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik on September 21 — the MP won the seat by a 524-vote majority in the 14th general election.

The EC is expected to announce the date of the by-election following a meeting on October 1. — Bernama

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