Kimanis showdown: Warisan takes on BN in tight race

Kimanis kicks off - voting begins

8am - Polls for the Kimanis by-election are set to officially open.

This contest is between BN's Mohamad Alamin and Parti Warisan Sabah's Karim Bujang. BN is supported by PAS and local opposition parties while Warisan is backed by Pakatan Harapan.

The campaign began on Jan 4 and lasted two weeks.

Pollsters put Warisan narrowly in the lead but that has been challenged by BN leaders.

The by-election was called after the Election Court voided Anifah Aman's slim 156-vote majority win in Kimanis in 2018 on the grounds that the Election Commission (EC) failed to comply with the proper election procedures.

In the last general, Anifah, who represented BN, won 11,942 votes to Karim's 11,786 votes. A third candidate, Harapan Rakyat's Jaafar Ismail received 1,300 votes.

Anifah sat out of this by-election but is backing BN despite having quit Umno. 

There are 29,664 eligible voters in this by-election.

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Some facts about the Kimanis by-election

• This is the 10th by-election since the 2018 general election and the second one for Sabah. The first by-election in Sabah was Sandakan which the DAP won on May 11 last year.
  
• To date, Pakatan Harapan has won five by-elections (Sungai Kandis, Seri Setia, Balakong, Port Dickson, Sandakan) while BN has won four (Cameron Highlands, Semenyih, Rantau, Tanjung Piai). Harapan's ally Warisan is representing the ruling coalition in this by-election.
  
• The Kimanis by-election will be the clearest gauge yet of the Sabah bumiputera community. While it is not the first by-election in Sabah, the earlier by-election in Sandakan was a Chinese-majority constituency.
  
• The majority population in the Kimanis parliamentary constituency comprise of Muslim bumiputera at around 61.93 percent. They mostly make up of Bruneian Malay, Bisaya and Bajau communities.
  
• The second-largest group are  non-Muslim bumiputera at around 31.92 percent, most of whom are Kadazan-Dusun and Murut. Chinese make up only 3.66 percent while others are 2.49 percent.  - Mkini