The proposed special tribunal on the Election Commission's alleged misconduct, especially during the 14th general election, will proceed, revealed a high-ranking government source.

This is despite Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Kong stating earlier that the issue of setting up a tribunal no longer arises since EC deputy chief commissioner Othman Mahmood, as well as commissioners Md Yusof Mansur, Abdul Aziz Khalidin, Sulaiman Narawi and Leo Chong Cheong, have resigned.

However, the source pointed to the remaining commissioner K Bala Singam, who still remains in the position, as an example.

"To remove commissioners, even the sole one or all five, a tribunal is needed as stipulated under the Federal Constitution. Furthermore, why did the five choose or dictate their resignations (to be effective) only on Jan 1 next year and not now?

"This is not proper like the case of former chief justice (Md Raus Sharif) and Court of Appeal president (Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin). Hence, the tribunal will go on," the source told Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity.

The source also noted that Liew might not be aware of these details.

Under Article 114(3) of the Federal Constitution, the removal of an EC commissioner is similar to removing a Federal Court judge. Whereas, Article 125(3) states that the removal can only be done through a tribunal.

Meanwhile, the source said the call for electoral reforms is loud and clear.

"If you look at the comments the public is unanimous on the various allegations plaguing the EC, and this has not been resolved," added the source in reference to Malaysiakini's readers' comments on articles regarding the issue.

Last week, it was reported that Putrajaya wanted to form the special tribunal and was in the process of appointing former Federal Court judges to spearhead it.

The following day, newly minted EC chairperson Azhar Harun announced that Othman and four others would shorten their tenure to Jan 1 whereas Bala, who was appointed in late 2016, would stay on.

He said the decision was made during a meeting with the commissioners on Oct 15, two days before news on the special tribunal was published, and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who appoints the members of the commission, has been notified.

In a statement last week, Bersih also called for the tribunal to proceed despite the five choosing to step down.

The electoral watchdog listed 10 of the commission's alleged wrongdoings which warranted an investigation.

This included gerrymandering and malapportionment in favour of BN, deliberately holding polling in midweek to discourage voter turnout, and allowing only a short campaign period of 11 days.