KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has allowed Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar and 10 other registered voters’ application to initiate a judicial review to challenge the Election Commission’s (EC) proposed redelineation exercise.
Judicial commissioner Azizul Azmi Adnan made the decision today after dismissing a preliminary objection by the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) that represented the EC, its chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Hashim Abdullah and secretary Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh, named as the first, second and third respondents, respectively.
Azizul also allowed an application by counsel A. Surendra who represented the 11 applicants for a stay of the local inquiry proceedings on the proposed redelineation here until the judicial review is heard.
The court has fixed Feb 15 for the judicial review hearing.
In his judgement, Azizul said the court was satisfied that the application was not frivolous and that the applicants have locus standi in the case.
“The court is of a view that this is an arguable case,” he said.
Nurul Izzah, 37, and 10 others filed the application on Nov 11, challenging the redelineation of Kuala Lumpur proposed by the EC.
The applicants are seeking a certiorari order to quash the first respondent’s decision in a notice dated Sept 15, 2016 on its proposed recommendations for redelineation of state and federal constituencies in the peninsula.
Among others, they are also seeking a declaration that the first local investigation conducted by the EC for P.121 (Lembah Pantai) on Nov 8 at Hotel Marriot Putrajaya was unlawful.
They are also seeking for an order that the notice and/or process/proceeding/procedures and proposed redelineation recommendations be suspended pending full disposal of the judicial review application.
The applicants were represented by counsel Surendra and Allif Benjamin Suhaimi, while the respondents were represented by senior federal counsel Datuk Amarjeet Singh, Shamsul Bolhassan, Suzana Atan and Azizan Md Arshad.