BARISAN Nasional (BN) will contest in 191 parliamentary seats in the country in the upcoming general election, except for the 31 seats in Sarawak, its chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today. 

“We will contest in 191 parliamentary seats. This includes seats that will be contested by Umno candidates and BN component parties’ candidates,” the Umno president said today during the 2022 Bagan Datuk Umno division delegate meeting.

Zahid also said that coming polls will be the first time candidates from Friends of BN will represent the coalition. 

“We will not forget candidates from Friends of BN.

“This will be the first time we will give an opportunity to candidates from Friends of BN,” Zahid added. 

There are 222 parliamentary seats in the country but Umno is not present in Sarawak where there are 31 seats available.

Friends of BN are parties that are allies of BN but not part of the BN pact. They include Makkal Sakti, Parti Cinta Malaysia, Indian Progressive Front, Kongres India Muslim Malaysia, Malaysian United Indian Party and Parti Punjabi Malaysia.

Newly formed Parti Bangsa Malaysia has applied to join BN but no decision has been made yet.

BN is made up of Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah.

Meanwhile, Zahid also added that the coalition will field 70% new faces in the coming polls. 

The incumbent Bagan Datuk MP said that the candidates who are contesting will be of high calibre, academically qualified, of good character and are fully committed to helping people. 

He also said that BN will heed the request of fielding 30% female candidates. – October 16, 2022.