Kemaman by-election: Heated atmosphere despite rain
FARAH SHAZWANI ALI NURFARDLINA IZZATI MOKTAR
KEMAMAN - The atmosphere on the candidate nomination day for the Kemaman by-election reamined 'heated' despite rain this morning.
Checks by Sinar at the nomination centre in Dewan Berlian Utama, Kemaman Municipal Council, saw supporters from both Pas and Barisan Nasional (BN) gathering since 8am to accompany their respective party candidates.
It is understood that 419 officers and police personnel were deployed to ensure smooth running of the nomination process.
Twenty-five roads were closed from 8am to noon to facilitate the nomination process.
Moreover, only supporters, proposers, and seconders were allowed to enter the nomination centre.
The candidate nomination process lasted for an hour until 10am before the eligible candidates were announced by Election Commission Officer Ahmad Farhan Abdul Wahab.
BN previously announced the Malaysian Armed Forces former Chief General (Ret.) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, 66, as their candidate, while Pas named Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate to defend the parliamentary seat.
The Kemaman Parliamentary by-election follows the decision of the Terengganu Election Court on September 26, which annulled the victory of Pas candidate Che Alias Hamid in the 15th General Election (GE15).
This comes after petitioner Wan Mohamad Hisham Wan Abdul Jalil (a voter) successfully proved that corrupt practices had occurred with the intention of influencing voters in GE15.
The Election Commission (EC) subsequently set Dec 2 as the voting date, with early voting scheduled for Nov 28 and a 14-day campaigning period.
