KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan will not contest in the Mahkota by-election, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Pakatan secretary-general said the Pakatan top leadership had a meeting last week and came to an agreement that the Mahkota by-election would be contested by a Barisan Nasional candidate.
"The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and agreed upon, with the decision that the Mahkota state seat will not be contested by a Pakatan candidate in the by-election.
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"It was agreed that a Barisan candidate will contest to respect the 'incumbent' being a Barisan seat.
"Barisan did the same during the Pulai Parliament seat and Simpang Jeram state seat by-elections in September last year," he said in a statement on Saturday (Aug 17).
Saifuddin said Pakatan would go down to give their full support.
"Maintaining the Mahkota state seat and being victorious is a priority in the spirit of the unity government," he said.
On Aug 2, the Mahkota state assembly seat fell vacant following the death of its incumbent Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain.
The Election Commission (EC) announced that polling day for the Mahkota by-election has been set for Sept 28, with Nomination Day to be held on Sept 14 and early voting on Sept 24.
