GE14 | The Election Commission will set the date of the 14th general election only after it has received formal notifications on the dissolutions of all the state assemblies, excluding Sarawak.

EC chairperson Mohd Hashim Abdullah said only four state assemblies – Perlis, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Johor – have been formally dissolved as of this afternoon, following the dissolution of Parliament that took effect from midnight yesterday.

"The EC had on April 6 received the instrument of dissolution of Parliament by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as well as a formal notice from Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

"However, up to this point, the EC has yet to receive formal notices on the dissolution of state assemblies from (all) the state speakers," Hashim told a press conference at EC's headquarters in Putrajaya.

"Once we have received (all) the notices, only then will we set a date for a special meeting to discuss matters," he said.

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After the special meeting, Hashim added, the EC would then announce dates for nomination, early voting and polling day, as well as the final gazetted electoral roll that will be used for GE14.

He also noted the EC will carry out its duties with its 250,000 officers nationwide, which include trained members of public, and is expected to receive further assistance from over 200,000 volunteers for candidates and political parties. 

'Not one million postal votes'

With regard to foreign postal voters, Hashim pointed out that the EC has so far received 4,916 applications – with 1,183 applicants from the UK alone – and reiterated that the deadline is set for 11.59pm today. 

The application deadline for domestic postal voters, meanwhile, will end on nomination day. The commission has so far received 39,775 applications, largely from civil servants not based in their voting districts.

"There are claims that there would be one million postal votes, but it is not one million.

"Our entire civil service is about 1.6 million people, so there can't be one million postal voters," he said.

Earlier, Hashim said the EC had conducted a simulation exercise to test its information system that would be used on nomination and polling day to identify any glitches and to come up with contingency plans.