Jepak polls: Battle to woo voters begins today

BINTULU: The battle to woo voters in the by-election for the Jepak state seat is set to commence on Saturday (Oct 21) with the nomination process opening at 9am at Dewan Suarah here.

The heat for the by-election involving the constituency which is located about 620 kilometres north of Kuching, has been intensifying since a week ago with the presence of political leaders and party members from all over Sarawak.

The by-election was called following the death of the incumbent Datuk Talib Zulpilip, 72, from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) on Sept 15, and the Election Commission announced that polling day will be held on Nov 4 and early voting on Oct 31.

ALSO READ: Jepak by-election: Battle to woo voters starts tomorrow (Oct 21)

However, Jepak by-election returning officer Abang Zainuddin Abang Turkey said on Friday (Oct 20) that no early voting centre will be opened on Oct 31 as all 43 early voters who are police personnel will cast their ballots via postal votes

Talib served as the Jepak assemblyman for 27 years, contesting in six state elections since 1996, cementing the seat as a stronghold for GPS.

The upcoming by-election will be the first time in almost 30 years for GPS to field a fresh face.

ALSO READ: EC all geared up for Jepak by-election

On Wednesday, GPS ended speculation when it named the former state director of the National Anti-Drug Agency Iskandar Turkee to contest the seat.

Before that, two local opposition parties had announced their candidates to challenge GPS. There were also rumours of several independent candidates joining the competition.

Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional in a statement on Wednesday said it would not field a candidate to focus on defending the Kemaman parliamentary seat in Terengganu in a by-election on Dec 2.

Sarawak PKR said it has taken the same measure to maintain the harmony of the Unity Government at the federal level.

In the 2021 state election, Talib secured the Jepak seat with a 4,243-vote majority.

The constituency has 22,804 registered voters, a majority of whom are from the Malay/Melanau ethnic group.