CANDIDATES who have withdrawn but get the most votes will be declared winners in the Padang Serai parliamentary and Tioman state seats elections, Abdul Ghani Salleh said.

The Election Commission (EC) chairman said this was in keeping with the election regulation, which stipulated that candidates cannot withdraw from the polls after their candidacy was accepted on nomination day.

He said despite their withdrawal, the candidates’ names and their party logos will still appear on the ballot papers.

“We will still declare them as winners, even if they had announced their withdrawal after the nomination process.

“Candidates are only allowed to withdraw during the nomination process. After 10am, they cannot withdraw from the polls once their candidacy is accepted,” he was quoted as saying today after visiting several polling stations in Padang Serai.

Balloting for both seats are in progress now.

As of noon, there is a 36% voter turnout for Padang Serai while Tioman has 35%.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) previously withdrew their candidates in a reciprocal arrangement after they forming a unity government at the federal level.

The Padang Serai parliamentary seat features a six-cornered fight among PH candidate candidate Dr Mohamad Sofee Razak, C. Sivarraajh (BN), Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional) and Hamzah Abd Rahman (Pejuang).

The other two contenders are Mohd Bakhri Hashim, representing Warisan, and Independent candidate Sreanandha Rao.

BN and Warisan have quit the race with Sivarraajh and Bakhri pledging support to the PH.

Similarly, the Tioman state seat will see a five-cornered contest that includes PN candidate Nor Idayu Hashim, Mohd Johari Hussain (BN), Osman A. Bakar (Pejuang), Sulaiman Bakar (Independent).

In a reciprocal arrangement, PH withdrew its candidate and is backing the BN candidate.

Polling for the two seats could not be held simultaneously with the 15th general election following the death of the candidates, namely PH’s M. Karupaiya for Padang Serai and PN’s Md Yunus Ramli for Tioman. – December 7, 2022.