‘Redelineation could help BN victory’

SHAH ALAM: The redelineation process could serve as a contributing factor to help Barisan Nasional (BN) clinch victory in the general election, a researcher said.

Unveiling a study on Selangor voters, Mohammad Redzuan Othman, deputy chairman of state government think-tank Institute Darul Ehsan (IDE), said based on trend analysis and the new boundaries, BN can remain in power with just 35% of the popular vote, unless there are major issues against it.

He said though the redelineation process had not been finalised, many quarters had expressed their dissatisfaction and concerns over the division of borders being done.

Mohammad Redzuan said in the 2013 general election, BN only won three seats from 20 big constituencies compared to 17 seats won by the then opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), showing that the opposition parties were stronger in high-voter constituencies.

He added that PR obtained 53% of the popular vote but could not take over the administration because it only had 89 seats compared to BN’s 133, even though it (BN) only obtained 47% of the popular vote.

Mohammad Redzuan said the survey showed that the opposition coalition had stronger support from voters in the state and a higher chance to retain the state in the next election.

However, he added, BN could gain 15% more support during the election campaigns due to its strategies, compared to a 5% increase in support for Pakatan Harapan (PH) during the same period.

The survey conducted from Aug 26 to 30 used a representative sample of the state population and was done via smartphone application and online monitoring, which produced real-time results.