State polls: Parties busy setting dates to announce candidates

 

With only eight days to go before the nomination day for the state polls in Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Negeri Sembilan, political parties in the country are starting to set dates to announce their respective candidates to be fielded in the national political arena.

The country's two giant political alliances, Pakatan Harapan and BN - working together for the first time to secure people’s mandate in the polls - are ready to announce their candidates, after going through a series of discussions.

BN, which is expected to contest 45 percent of the 245 state seats in the upcoming state polls, will field candidates from Umno, after its component parties, MIC and MCA, decided not to contest on Aug 12.

The coalition of the country's oldest political parties will announce more than 100 candidates this evening at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, while Harapan, especially PKR, is expected to announce its candidates to contest the 59 state constituency seats in a ceremony at the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), tomorrow (July 22).

However, PKR's ally, DAP, has yet to announce the date to unveil its candidates, even though Penang DAP secretary Lim Hui Ying said the state party is expected to announce the full list of its 19 contesting candidates next week.

It is understood that DAP will field candidates in all 48 state seats won by the party in the 14th general election (GE14), with 19 seats in Penang, followed by Selangor (16), Negeri Sembilan (11), and Kedah (two).

Harapan component party Amanah will announce the full list of candidates, which is around 31 to 34 individuals, this Monday (July 24), but its president Mohamad Sabu has yet to disclose the location and time of the announcement thus far.

Other parties

Perikatan Nasional (PN), which consists of three major component parties, namely Bersatu, PAS, and Gerakan, has decided to announce their respective candidates to contest in the elections through the PN candidate declaration ceremony.

Selangor PN is expected to announce its candidates on July 25, while other states will make an announcement on July 27.

Meanwhile, the PN candidate declaration ceremony in Kedah, scheduled for today, has been postponed until next Tuesday, which is understood to change Kedah's PAS strategy in the face of the state elections.

PN’s cooperation with Pejuang, which led to the “Malay Proclamation”, still does not seem very clear, with Pejuang’s own position still ambiguous as to whether it will field candidates this time around.

Muda, which is only contesting 10 percent of the total seats, is the first party to start announcing its candidates, in phases since July 14, with eight in Selangor and one each in Terengganu and Penang respectively.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), which is working with Muda in the polls, announced its first candidate on July 14, for the Meru seat.

At the same time, although there has been no official announcement, caretaker Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari, caretaker Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow, and caretaker Kedah menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor have been tipped to be retained for the post if their respective parties continue to receive the people’s mandate.

The Election Commission has set the state polls in Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Negeri Sembilan to be held simultaneously on Aug 12, with nomination day on July 29 and early voting on Aug 8.

The polls involve 36 seats in Kedah, Kelantan (45), Terengganu (32), Penang (40), Selangor (56), and Negeri Sembilan (36).

- Bernama