EC: Polling for Tioman state seat on Dec 7
The campaigning period is set for 13 days starting after the announcement of contesting candidates on Nov 24 until 11.59pm on Dec 6.
– Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh
PUTRAJAYA: Polling for the Tioman state seat, which could not proceed yesterday following the death of Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Md Yunus Ramli early yesterday morning, will be held on Dec 7.
Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh in a statement said nomination day is set for Nov 24, with early voting on Dec 3.
He said the EC received the Election Writ, regarding Md Yunus’ death, which was returned by the Rompin returning officer yesterday.
“The campaigning period is set for 13 days starting after the announcement of contesting candidates on Nov 24 until 11.59pm on Dec 6,” he said.
This means that polling for the Tioman state seat will be held simultaneously with the Padang Serai parliamentary seat, following the death of Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate M. Karupaiya, who was also the incumbent, last Wednesday.
For nomination day, Abdul Ghani said that the Tioman candidates whose names had been confirmed earlier still need to be present at the nomination centre for the purpose of drawing lots to determine their position on the ballot paper.
Any prospective candidates wanting to contest the election must submit their filled up and checked nomination papers at the nomination centre designated by the EC, he said.
According to Abdul Ghani, the postal ballot application process is open from today and closes on Nov 22.
Abdul Ghani said the EC had appointed Rompin District Officer, Datuk Ahmad Nasim Mohd Sidek, as the returning officer, while the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Perak Jubilee Hall, Rompin, has been designated as the nomination centre and votetallying centre.
A total of 429 staff will be appointed to conduct the election in 17 ordinary polling centres, containing 52 polling streams, and two early polling centres, containing two voting streams, and an estimated RM3 million is required to conduct the poll.
The Electoral Roll that will be used for the election contains a total of 28,465 voters, consisting of 28,200 ordinary voters, 262 police personnel and three absentee voters abroad. The roll is scheduled to go on sale on Nov 23.
Md Yunus, 61, died at about 3.30am at Rompin Hospital, causing the Pahang EC to announce that the voting process for the state seat had been postponed.
The contest for the Tioman state seat was supposed to be a five-cornered fight between Md Yunus, Sulaiman Bakar (Independent), Osman A. Bakar (Pejuang), Mohd Fadzli Mohd Ramly (Pakatan Harapan) and Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Hussain (Barisan Nasional).
The deceased, who was PAS Sungai Puteri division chief, had previously contested the same state seat in the 2018 general election.