PKR to announce Balingian by-election candidate after BN announce theirs
KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat ( PKR) will announce its candidate for Balingian byelection this Saturday after a meeting in Sibu.
Its state chairman Baru Bian however did not want to reveal any clue as to the identity of the candidate when contacted yesterday.
He said the party would only reveal the candidate’s name the same day the Barisan Nasional (BN) announced their candidate.
“For the time being, it is better for me not to reveal any indication on the candidate’s identity, who will represent PKR in the Balingian by- election on March 29.
“What is certain is that we have identified three potential candidates, two of them local Melanaus while another is an outsider,” he said.
When asked to comment on BN’s announcement that it will field a
For the time being, it is better for me not to reveal any indication on the candidate’s identity, who will represent PKR in the Balingian by-election on March 29. Baru Bian, PKR state chairman
Christian Melanau candidate for the seat, Baru said it was one of strategies for both camps to win the (Balingian) seat.
“To me, this is a strategy which must be taken into account by PKR in determining the candidate who will represent the party in the coming by- election.”
Baru did not deny that it would be an uphill task for them to compete with BN in Balingian considering that it is the stronghold of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu ( PBB) and BN.
In the 2011 state election, Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud from PBB won the seat with a majority of 5,154 votes in a three- cornered contest against PKR candidate Suriati Abdullah and Datuk Salleh Jafaruddin who contested as an independent candidate.
The seat was vacated by Taib when he stepped down as chief minister on Feb 28 to be appointed as the seventh Yang di- Pertua Negri on March 1.
Balingian has 13,366 registered voters, consisting of 13,233 ordinary voters and 133 early voters.
The Election Commission has fixed March 17 as the nomination day and March 29 for polling.