Nomination today for GE14

KUALA LUMPUR: The nomination of candidates for the 14th general election is scheduled for today nationwide for the 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats.

The period for submission of the nomination papers is between 9 am and 10 am at 222 nomination centres located at, among other places, district offices, land offices, community halls and school halls.

The sale of nomination papers for GE14 has ended, with a staggering figure of 7,914 copies snapped up, an indication that the polls this time will be one of the most hotly-contested in Malaysian history.

The figure comprised 2,676 nomination papers for parliamentary seats and 5,238 for state seats.

Political parties in Sabah and Labuan took up the most – 383 nomination papers for parliamentary seats and 879 for state seats.

Over in the peninsula, Johor had the highest numbers for parliamentary seats with 265 copies while Kelantan had 604 copies for state seats.

With a total of 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats being contested, the figures equates to 12 candidates for every parliamentary seat and 10 candidates for every state seat.

While this suggests a higher number of candidates for GE14, it is a usual practice for candidates and political parties to buy extra forms in case of mistakes or lastminute changes.

Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who leads the BN into his second general election, said the chosen BN candidates had been assessed over the past five years and not just over the past month or two.

The Prime Minister said the coalition had taken into account the performance of the candidates in terms of their relationship with the local community.