Decision on Pandan, Setiawangsa by-elections rests with Speaker, says expert

Monday 12 Oct 2026

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KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Whether by-elections will be held for the Pandan and Setiawangsa parliamentary seats following the resignations of Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad will ultimately depend on how Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul interprets the Federal Constitution, according to parliamentary and policy advocacy specialist Maha Balakrishnan.

Maha, who is a research fellow at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Asia Headquarters at Sunway University, said the resignations do not automatically trigger by-elections because the current parliamentary term has already crossed the three-year mark.

“Despite the fact that the three-year mark has been crossed, it should be noted that under the second proviso of Article 54(1), the Speaker has the ability to notify the Election Commission that a by-election is nevertheless necessary if a casual vacancy would impact the numerical strength of the majority party in power,” she told The Edge.

Article 54(1) of the Federal Constitution states that a casual vacancy in the Dewan Rakyat must generally be filled within 60 days after it is established by the Election Commission.

However, the second proviso to the article states that if the vacancy occurs within two years before Parliament is due to dissolve, the seat does not have to be filled unless the Speaker notifies the Election Commission in writing that the vacancy affects the numerical strength of the party that constitutes a majority in the House.

In such circumstances, a by-election must then be held within 60 days from the date the Election Commission receives the notification.

Maha said the provision leaves significant discretion to the Speaker in determining whether the vacancies in Pandan and Setiawangsa warrant by-elections.

“However, I don't believe that proviso should be applied in the current circumstances, since the Madani government as a whole still has a clear majority. Nevertheless, the ball is currently in the Speaker’s court as to how he chooses to interpret the phrase ‘party that constitutes a majority’ in that proviso and apply it to the current circumstances,” she said.

Maha added that the matter was further complicated by the structure of the unity government.

“It’s a little bit more complicated because of the seat share [distribution] in the Madani government,” she said. “No coalition has an outright majority in the House, so one could argue that the proviso should be applied.”

The Constitution (Amendment) (No 3) Act 2022 (Act A1663), commonly referred to as the anti-party-hopping law, came into force in 2022 to prevent elected representatives from switching parties after being elected.

The amendment was passed with the support of a two-thirds majority of 209 Dewan Rakyat members and a majority of 52 senators in the Dewan Negara.

Earlier on Monday, former ministers Rafizi and Nik Nazmi submitted their resignation letters to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, formally vacating the Pandan and Setiawangsa seats respectively.

The resignations came a day after the duo announced that they have taken over Penang-based Parti Bersama Malaysia, following a widening rift within PKR after both failed to retain their party positions in the 2025 party elections.

The now former PKR leaders said they had decided to return the mandate to voters after choosing to “explore a new political agenda”.

They also confirmed plans to contest again in their respective constituencies under the Parti Bersama platform.

Edited ByS Kanagaraju

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