KOTA KINABALU, Oct 6 — After weeks, if not months of speculation, chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is expected to announce the disssolution of the current 16th State Legislative Assembly today.
The dissolution will pave the way for the 17th state election, to be held on a date decided by the Election Commission, within 60 days.
The expectation comes as media were given notice of Hajiji to attend a gathering of all government appointed elected representatives at 2pm at Menara Kinabalu.
Earlier, as media representatives gathered outside the Istana Negeri early as 7.30am, Hajiji reportedly arrived at 8.51am, further stamping rumours that the dissolution would occur today.
Hajiji heads the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah state government together with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and three Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen, commanding a total of 53 seats, including four appointed members.
The opposition bloc has Parti Warisan, together with BN and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), altogether holding 22 seats, including two appointed assemblymen.
Two state seats are presently vacant.
One, Sungai Sibuga, fell vacant following the death of Assistant Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Mohd Hamsan Awang Supain in January.
The second, Melalap, became vacant in September after former assemblyman Datuk Peter Anthony was convicted for fraud.
