PETALING JAYA: The 15th General Election (GE15) is unlikely to be held before Budget 2023, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic).
The former prime minister said this was due to the divisions among the parties in the current government.
Sinar Harian quoted the Pejuang chairman saying that the failure of the parties in the government to reach an agreement to hold the elections has left them unable to dissolve the government immediately.
Dr Mahathir also explained that the current government would choose the appropriate date for the implementation of GE15 when their party was in the strongest position and able to win, but the situation was difficult because they now have no consensus.
On July 13, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Putrajaya and Pakatan Harapan could trigger GE15 soon.
However, Anwar said that Pakatan does not want to force early polls as there were more pressing matters which needed to be addressed.
On Monday (July 14), Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan reaffirmed his party’s decision on April 14 not to continue the MOU after July 31.
The government and the Opposition signed an MOU on political transformation and stability on Sept 13, paving the way for historic bipartisanship.
Among the agreements under the MOU signed between the government and Pakatan last September was that Parliament could not be dissolved before July 31 this year.
The current government’s term expires in July 2023.-The Star