The Election Commission (EC) has fixed the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat by-election for Dec 5, amid the raging cases of COVID-19 cases in Sabah.

Its chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh told a press conference that the nomination day has been set for Nov 23, while early voting will be on Dec 1.

The by-election comes following the death of its incumbent from Warisan, Liu View Keong, from a lung infection on Oct 2.

Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) have announced that they will not field their candidates in the election due to the raging pandemic.

Concerns have been raised over the holding of yet another by-election in a state which is already being ravaged by the coronavirus.

Sabah is on a state-wide lockdown from today, after the state recorded the highest number of active COVID-19 cases as of Monday.

It has been established that the state election held on Sept 26 had caused a huge surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.

As of Monday afternoon, a total of 16,220 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the country, as well as 159 deaths.

The global infection and death tally from the virus have surpassed 38 million and 1.08 million, respectively.


Photo source: Astro Awani