Candidate Nomination Marks Official Start Of 16th Negeri Sembilan State Election

SEREMBAN: The curtain has officially been raised on the 16th Negeri Sembilan State Election today, with the candidate nomination process taking place simultaneously at eight nomination centres across the state starting from 9 am.

Prospective candidates were given a one-hour window until 10 am to submit their nomination forms to the Returning Officers before the list of eligible candidates was officially announced.

Immediately after the announcement, the contest for the people’s mandate entered the 14-day campaign period until 11.59 pm on July 31, as set by the Election Commission (EC).

The EC has set the early polling date for the Negeri Sembilan State Election on July 28, while polling day falls on August 1, following the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on June 5 after obtaining the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.

As of yesterday, the EC informed that a total of 464 nomination forms had been sold, while 70 prospective candidates had been confirmed to have paid their deposit fees to validate their participation.

Based on EC statistics, a total of 889,490 eligible voters will cast their ballots in this election, comprising 867,151 ordinary voters, 16,884 military personnel and their spouses, as well as 5,455 police personnel and their spouses.

In recent days, several political parties have announced their candidate lists, combining synergies of incumbents and new faces in an effort to secure the people’s mandate to lead the state administration.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) will contest all 36 state seats, Barisan Nasional (BN) 25 seats and Perikatan Nasional (PN) 11 seats, in addition to Parti Orang Asli Malaysia (ASLI), Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) each contesting one state seat.

Meanwhile, BERSATU will contest 24 state seats, including two from Parti Bersepakat Hak Rakyat Malaysia (Urimai) using the BERSATU logo.

To ensure smooth proceedings, the Negeri Sembilan police have deployed 4,800 officers and personnel, in addition to receiving assistance from 1,373 officers and personnel from Bukit Aman, who will be on duty throughout the election period.

Nomination day is expected to be a lively affair around the nomination centres, with the presence of supporters as well as political leaders and figures rallying behind their respective candidates.

As such, the EC has reminded all candidates and supporters to comply with the established regulations and avoid any provocation that could disrupt the smooth conduct of the nomination process.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) expects fine weather in most areas, except for Port Dickson and Seremban, which are forecast to experience rain in the morning, while all areas are expected to experience thunderstorms in the afternoon.

In the 15th Negeri Sembilan State Election in 2023, PH won 17 out of 36 state seats, followed by BN with 14 seats and PN with five seats.

BERNAMA