The Pensiangan parliamentary seat, won by Barisan Nasional's Joseph Kurup on March 8 general election, has been declared vacant by the Kota Kinabalu Election Court today.
The decision by High Court judge Justice David Wong Dah Wah could pave way for a by-election for this constituency which was won uncontested by Kurup.
However recent amendments to the election laws allow Kurup to appeal the decision at the Federal Court.
The petition was filed by PKR's Danny Anthony Andipai, who was also a candidate for the seat.
He had named Kurup, returning officer Bubudan OT Majalu and the Election Commission as respondents.
Kurup won the seat uncontested on Feb 24 nomination day after Andipai's candidacy was rejected after he had submitted his nomination papers after the 10am deadline.
On the nomination day, both Andipai and another candidate Saimeh Usau had missed the deadline and wanted to submit their papers after the expiry of the deadline.
They claimed they have been blocked on their way to the nominatin centre.
They were subsequently allowed to do so, with Andipai's nomination papers accepted at 10.25am and Saimeh's forms five minutes later.
However, during the one-hour objection period from 11am, Kurup had raised objections to the late submissions and they were accepted by the returning officer. He then disqualified the two candidates from contesting.
Kurup is the president of the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah president and was subsequently appointed Deputy Rural Development Minister after the general election. He is also a former Sanah deputy chief minister.
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