GE15: Candidates contesting Padang Serai, Tioman seats to be announced today

KUALA LUMPUR: Polling for the 15th General Election (GE15) for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat in Kedah and the Tioman state seat in Pahang, which was postponed following the death of candidates, resumed on Thursday (Nov 24) with the nomination process.

Candidates whose names had been confirmed in the constituencies on Nov 5 would still need to be present at the nomination centres, for the purpose of drawing lots to determine their position on the ballot paper.

Any prospective candidates wanting to contest the election must submit their completed and checked nomination papers to the returning officer’s office, and the papers must be submitted by either one or two of the candidate, the proposer, or the seconder.

The nomination papers can only be submitted from 9am to 10am, at the Kulim Hi-Tech Sports Complex Hall, Kulim for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat, and at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Jubilee Hall, Rompin for the Tioman state seat.

The Election Commission (EC) set the polling day on Dec 7 and early voting on Dec 3, with a 13-day campaigning period starting after the announcement of contesting candidates on Thursday, until 11.59 pm on Dec 6.

Polling for GE15 in both constituencies was postponed following the death of candidates who had been confirmed to contest, namely M. Karupaiya from Pakatan Harapan for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat, and Md Yunus Ramli from Perikatan Nasional for the Tioman state seat.

Karupaiya, 69, died on Nov 16, believed to be due to a heart attack and health complications, while Md Yunus, 61, was confirmed to have died a few hours before the voting process, last Saturday (Nov 19).

Karupaiya, 69, was set to defend the seat in a six-cornered clash against Hamzah Abd Rahman (Pejuang-Putra), C Sivaraajh (Barisan Nasional-MIC), Bakhri Hashim (Warisan), Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional-Bersatu) and independent candidate Sreanandha Rao.

Meanwhile, the Tioman state seat would have witnessed a five-cornered fight between Md Yunus, Sulaiman Bakar (Independent), Osman A. Bakar (Pejuang), Mohd Fadzli Mohd Ramly (PH) and Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Hussain (BN). - Bernama