KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk C. Sivarraajh will not be able to defend his former seat in the upcoming Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election, scheduled for Jan 26.
The Election Commission (EC), in announcing this, said Sivarraajh, who is MIC vice-president, has also been barred from becoming a candidate or a voter in any election for the next five years.
EC chairman Azhar Azizan Harun said the decision was made after a careful study of the ruling made by the Election Court on Nov 30.
This, he said, included studying the Election Court judgment and report under Section 36(2)(a) and Section 37 of the Election Offences Act 1954 on Dec 13, as well as after considering legal views under Act 5 of the Election Offences Act 1954.
“For the next five years, beginning Dec 13, Sivarraajh cannot be registered or listed as a voter and cannot vote in any election.
“He cannot become a candidate in any election,” he said in a statement issued on Friday.
Azhar said the EC had taken all necessary steps in accordance with the Act and existing election regulations in making its decision.
The Cameron Highlands by-election was called following a decision by the Election Court to nullify Sivarraajh’s win in the 14th general election. The court had ruled that during the election, there were elements of bribery involved in a bid to sway voters in the area.
In GE14, 14, Sivarraajh won the seat with a slim 597-vote majority by seeing off four other challengers.
Sivarraajh obtained 10,307 votes, beating DAP’s M. Manogran who secured 9,710 undi; Wan Mahadir Wan Mahmud (Pas - 3,587 votes); Mohd Tahir Kassim (Berjasa - 81 votes) and B Suresh Kumar (PSM - 680 votes).
Manogaran, 59, had on June 4 filed an election petition to seek a declaration that the results for the seat were invalid as there was a breach of the Election Offences Act 1954.
The decision comes as a blow to MIC in its bid to hold on to its sole parliamentary seat. Party sources had on Thursday described Sivarraajh as their best candidate and were hoping for a favourable outcome from the EC.
