The election timetables are keeping all interested parties on their tip-toe: latest event to watch is the announced delay of UMNO’s poll by 18 months, which has been read as facilitating the calling of a snap poll -probably in March. If that come to pass there is a likelihood that the Sarawak state poll, due latest by July 2011, could be synchronised. There is a well known attraction for such an option to serve the interests of various parties from both sides of the South China Sea-so its likelihood is on the card.
The timing of the elections may center on the Sarawak’s CM: if the state poll is delayed further it may facilitate nudging out the longest serving CM of Sarawak. Conversely the Sarawak CM is expected to welcome faster state poll with a view to stay on. There is no clarity on which side will have their way yet.
For the CM a synchronised state and national poll will distract the Opposition significantly -so that they will be too stretched to focus their assault of the state.
So a compromised is possible eg a slightly delayed poll in exchange for a synchronised national and state polls.
So let’s see how the 2 polls will be decided to tell us who prevailed.
democracy4now
lucia
TP
sicnewsmirisite
timchoo
