TERENGGANU Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who is also the state assemblyman for Ru Rendang, has been named the PAS candidate for the Kemaman by-election.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had previously named former defence force chief Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, 66, as the coalition’s candidate for the seat. 

Ahmad Samsuri’s candidacy was announced by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man. 

The Kemaman parliamentary by-election follows the decision of the Terengganu Election Court on September 26 which nullified the victory of PAS candidate Che Alias Hamid in the last general election. 

The Election Commission has set polling day on December 2 while nomination day will be on Saturday. Early voting has been set for November 28. 

A total of 141,790 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the by-election including 387 police personnel, nine Armed Forces members, and 12 overseas voters.  

In the last general election, PAS won all eight federal seats, and in the August state elections, it won all 32 assembly seats. 

Che Alias obtained 65,714 votes in the general election to win the seat with a majority of more than 27,000 in a four-cornered contest. His closest contender was Umno’s Ahmad who garnered 38,535 votes. – November 16, 2023.