Former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee has been disqualified as the member of parliament for Gaya and a by-election for the seat will be called within 60 days, the Election Commission announced today.

According to Bernama , this decision was reached after a meeting between the EC and the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"As a result of the meeting, the Attorney-General's Chambers and the commission have agreed that Yong's petition for pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is not applicable in cases involving election offences," EC chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said.

Rashid added that the commission took into account the present election laws, the Sept 3 Federal Court's decision to reject Yong's application and the ruling by the Court of Appeal on June 6 last year in reaching its decision.

Rashid said that the commission would hold a by-election within 60 days from today as provided for under Article 54(1) of the Federal Constitution.

The commission will hold a special meeting at its headquarters in Putrajaya on Friday to decide on the dates for the writ, notice, nomination and polling for the by-election, he added.