THE Sungai Bakap by-election in Penang will see a straight fight between Joohari Ariffin of Pakatan Harapan and Abidin Ismail of Perikatan Nasional.

Returning officer Khairulnizam Hashim said only Joohari and Abidin had submitted their nominations for the polls.

“After checking all the nomination papers, I am satisfied with them. No papers were rejected. I attest that the Sungai Bakap state seat will be contested by Joohari and Abidin,” he said. 

Sungai Bakap is considered a PAS stronghold as the constituency borders Kedah, where the Islamist party is most dominant.

The electoral roll for the state seat of Sungai Bakap has 39,279 voters, consisting of 39,222 regular voters and 57 police officers.

A total of 522 election workers will manage the by-election process while over 600 police officers will be deployed to ensure security.

In the Penang elections last August, Nor Zamri, who was also the Nibong Tebal PAS chief, defeated Pakatan Harapan candidate Nurhidayah Che Rose by 1,563 votes.

The Sungai Bakap polls is the eighth by-election to be held after the 2022 general election. – June 22, 2024.