Bandar kuching: Bandar Kuching Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen has urged the Election Commission (EC) to strictly adhere to constitutional principles and allow sufficient time for public scrutiny during the electoral redelineation process in Sarawak. In a statement today, Yii said that while he generally supports the proposed increase in seats, the process must adhere to provisions on apportionment, area weightage, and local ties to ensure the interests of all Sarawakians are protected. According to BERNAMA News Agency, Yii emphasized the importance of adhering to the Federal Constitution, specifically Subsection 2(c) of the Thirteenth Schedule, which mandates that the number of electors in each constituency ought to be approximately equal. Exceptions are allowed only for rural constituencies facing geographical disadvantages. Historically, this allowed for a maximum-to-minimum ratio of 2:1, meaning a rural constituency could have as few as half the voters of an urban constituency. However, Yii pointed out that the current malapportionment is excessive. Yii called for the EC to act independently, resist pressure from political parties, and adhere to constitutional demands, including reducing ratio disparities, avoiding gerrymandering, and allowing sufficient time for public participation. He criticized the rushed four-month timeline and highlighted current disparities, citing the parliamentary seats of Miri with 149,441 voters and Igan with 29,132 voters, a ratio of about 5:1. At the state level, he noted that Senadin has 73,430 voters compared with Gedong's 10,380, a ratio of about 7:1. Additionally, Yii questioned the rationale behind Bandar Kuching, with a similar electorate size to Petrajaya, not gaining additional seats while Petrajaya may receive two. He emphasized that while the Constitution allows for 'weightage of area' in large and difficult-to-access rural constituencies, it should not justify over-representation in smaller areas. He cited examples where P216 Hulu Rajang, P220 Baram , and others have legitimate claims for over-representation due to their large geographical areas and difficulties in reaching electors. Yii also highlighted the case of P207 Igan, which has an area of only one-third of Negeri Sembilan and fewer voters than larger constituencies like Hulu Rajang and Baram. He pointed out that N26 Gedong exemplifies over-representation, as nearly half of Sarawak's state constituencies have both larger areas and electorates than Gedong, which is easily accessible from the State Legislature. Meanwhile, Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat urged the EC to address imbalances in voter distribution by establishing a principle that no parliamentary constituency should have more than twice the number of voters as the smallest. He noted significant disparities in voter numbers between constituencies, citing Bangi and Kota Raja as examples of densely populated urban areas compared to much smaller constituencies like Sik in Kedah and Jeli in Kelantan. Suhaizan called for prompt corrections to thes e imbalances in the current redelineation process so that changes can be implemented before the next general election, emphasizing the need to make urban votes equally valuable as those in smaller constituencies.