KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — The Election Commission will only meet to decide the key dates for the 15th general election on October 20, an official said today.

EC secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak said the meeting will also decide the same for the Bugaya by-election in Sabah; the by-election is necessary as the Sabah assembly is not being dissolved.

"The special meeting will be chaired by Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh, the EC chairman, and will discuss the important dates of the 15th general election and Bugaya by-election,” he said in a statement.

The matters to be determined include the dates for nomination, early voting, polling, and the electoral roll to be used, he explained.

Caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament yesterday to trigger a general election that must be held within 60 days.

Yesterday, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan recommended that GE15 be held by the first half of November to avoid coinciding with the predicted floods from the annual year-end monsoon season.