KOTA ISKANDAR: The upcoming Johor state elections will be a crowded affair with 172 candidates contesting 56 seats statewide.
Election Commission chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said that Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan were fielding the most number of candidates in all seats while Perikatan Nasional is contesting 33 seats.
He said others include Parti Bersama Malaysia (15), Muda (four), Parti Orang Asli Malaysia (Asli) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) (one seat each) and six Independents.
In the 2022 state polls, a total of 233 candidates contested.
"No application was rejected statewide during nominations," he said, adding that there were 14 seats with straight fights while 27 were three-cornered fights.
He added that 12 seats were four-cornered and three with five candidates contesting.
The three seats with five corner fights include Puteri Wangsa, Bukit Batu and Bukit Naning.
Ramlan said that the oldest candidate was 73-years-old from Perikatan, who is standing in Stulang while the youngest candidate is 23 and contesting in Johor Lama for Pakatan.
A bulk of the candidates were below 49 years old with 97 candidates while 27 candidates were those above 60.
A total of 138 candidates are men while 34 are women, he added.
"The commission also has 56 enforcement teams to oversee the election," he said, urging for the campaign to be done in a peaceful atmosphere and in accordance with the law.
He added that the campaign has officially started and would end at 11.59pm on July 10.
