Negeri Sembilan nomination day kicks off battle for people’s mandate

 The Election Commission has fixed the polling day for Aug 1, with early voting taking place on July 28.

The PN candidates for Paroi, Chembong dan Kota gathered near the nomination centre at Dewan Seri Rembau with their supporters.

SEREMBAN:

The 16th Negeri Sembilan state election officially begins today with the nomination process for the 36 seats at stake taking place simultaneously at eight nomination centres across the state from 9am.

Prospective candidates have until 10am to submit their nomination papers to the Election Commission’s (EC) returning officer before the list of eligible candidates is officially announced.

Once the list is announced, the contest for the people’s mandate will enter the 14-day campaign period, which runs until 11.59pm on July 31, as set by the EC.

Polling day has been fixed for Aug 1, with early voting taking place on July 28.

As of yesterday, the EC said 464 nomination forms had been sold, while 70 prospective candidates had paid the required election deposits to confirm their participation.

A total of 889,490 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the state election, comprising 867,151 ordinary voters, 16,884 military personnel and their spouses, and 5,455 police personnel and their spouses.

Over the past few days, political parties have unveiled their list of candidates, fielding a mix of incumbents and new faces in their bid to secure the people’s mandate to govern the state.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) will contest all 36 state seats, while Barisan Nasional (BN) will field candidates in 25 seats and Perikatan Nasional (PN) in 11.

In addition, Parti Orang Asli Malaysia (Asli), Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) will each field one candidate, while Bersatu will contest 24 seats, including two candidates from Urimai who will use the Bersatu logo.

To ensure the smooth conduct of the election and campaign period over the next two weeks, Negeri Sembilan police have deployed 4,800 officers and personnel, with the assistance of another 1,373 officers and personnel from Bukit Aman.

Nomination day is expected to draw large crowds of party supporters, leaders and political figures accompanying their respective candidates to the nomination centres.

The EC has reminded all candidates and supporters to comply with the rules and avoid any form of provocation that could disrupt the nomination process.

The meteorological department has forecast generally fair weather across most areas in the morning, except for Port Dickson and Seremban where rain is expected.

In the last state polls, held in August 2023, PH won 17 of the 36 state seats, followed by BN with 14 seats and PN with five. - FMT