State polls: Kelantan state assembly officially dissolves

Kelantan Mentri Besar had earlier announced the date of the state assmbly's dissolution.

KOTA BARU: The 45-seat Kelantan state assembly has been officially dissolved on Thursday (June 22) to pave the way for the state election.

This follows the announcement by Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob on Wednesday (June 21) that the state assembly would be dissolved Thursday after obtaining the consent of the Kelantan Ruler Sultan Muhammad V.

The dissolution of the 14th state assembly was made four days before its term expires on June 26.

Kelantan is also the first state under PAS to dissolve its state assembly.

In the 14th General Election (GE14), PAS dominated the state assembly after winning 37 seats, while Barisan Nasional (BN) secured eight.

However, Ayer Lanas assemblyman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed then quit Umno and joined Bersatu.

This upcoming state election will see BN collaborating with Pakatan Harapan (PH), while PAS is forging cooperation with Bersatu through Perikatan Nasional (PN).

At a media conference on Wednesday, Kelantan PAS secretary Wan Roslan Wan Hamat confirmed that the party would contest 39 seats, while Bersatu would face BN in six state constituencies.

For BN and PH, both coalitions were reported to have completed their seat allocations.

Kelantan Umno information chief Datuk Zawawi Othman was reported as saying that BN candidates would be fielded in 31 seats, while 14 seats would be given to PH.

Kelantan is one of the six states holding a state election. The other five are Kedah, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang. - Bernama