Political analyst believes GE14 will be held in March next year
KUCHING: Political analyst Dr Ahi Sarok predicts that the 14th general election (GE14) will be held in March next year.
He believes that most political observers would speculate that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is likely to dissolve parliament after Chinese New Year, which will falls on February 16 and 17.
“I think polling will be held between the middle and end of March, during school holidays,” he told The Borneo Post.
He was responding to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's hint that the 14th general election would likely be held within days after the Chinese New Year next year.
The dates for school holidays in 2018 are March 17 to March 25, June 9 to June 24, August 18 to August 26 and November 24 to December 31.
Ahi, who is an Associate Professor of Unimas Faculty of Social Science, believes it is very unlikely that the election will be called in April or May as they are too near to the fasting month.
Ramadan or fasting in 2018 is expected to start on May 16, and will continue for 30 days until June 14.
He said the Prime Minister is also very unlikely to call for election in June because by then opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be released from prison.
“Although he may not have much time to meet the Harapan supporters, he can create political havoc during election,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister and MP for Bagan Datuk, appeared to touch on the election when opening the Teoh Fu Kiong Temple in Hutan Melintang in Bagan Datuk on Sunday.
“Jangan lupa hari besar kita akan sampai, lepas Tahun Baru Cina akan ada hari besar lain. Kalau dulu bikin silap tak pa saya maafkan. Kalau boleh kali ini jangan bikin silap lagi woo,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
(English translation: Don't forget our big day will come, after the Chinese New Year there will be another big day. If before voters made a mistake it is okay, I forgive. If possible, this time don't repeat the same mistake).