Nenggiri By-election: Nomination Of Candidates Opens Tomorrow

GUA MUSANG, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- The by-election of the Nenggiri state seat will begin tomorrow with the nomination of candidate taking place at Dewan Perdana, Perdana Complex, Gua Musang District Council, here.

Potential candidates are given an hour from 9 to 10 am to submit their nomination forms before the list of those eligible to contest is announced by the Returning Officer.

Once the nomination process is over, candidates have 14 days to campaign for votes in the state constituency which is one of the three state seats under the Gua Musang parliamentary constituency.

The EC set the voting day on August 17, while the early voting day which was initially set on August 13 will not be held after all 14 voters involved chose to vote by post, following the need for them to be on duty throughout the by-election campaign.

According to the Election Commission (EC), a total of 20,259 registered voters are eligible to fulfill their respective responsibilities in the by-election, consisting of 20,245 ordinary voters and 14 police personnel.

Based on the website of the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the weather throughout the nomination process is expected to be fair.

Meanwhile, Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun in a statement said three main roads in the district will be closed temporarily, from 7 am to 12 noon for the nomination of candidates.

It involves Jalan Persiaran Raya starting from the Mahkota Intersection traffic light to the Bendahara Intersection traffic light from the direction of Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu.

For the record, the Nenggiri state by-election is the first by-election after the 15th Kelantan State Election.

It was held after the seat was declared vacant by Kelantan State Assembly Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah on June 19.

The Nenggiri state seat was previously held by Mohd Azizi Abu Naim of Bersatu, but his membership in the party was revoked on June 13.

So far, Barisan Nasional (BN) has named Kelantan UMNO Youth chief Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani, 38, as the candidate to represent the Unity Government while Perikatan Nasional (PN) has named Mohd Rizwadi Ismail, 41, who is a former member of the Royal Malaysian Navy as a candidate.

The state assembly has been contested since 2004 and so far has gone through five elections, which saw four of them won by BN, and the last time won by Mohd Azizi.

-- BERNAMA