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KOTA KINABALU: A total of 447 candidates from various parties will participate in the 16th general election of the state of Sabah. Election Commission Chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said the candidates were from 16 parties and included 56 independents.
He said that Parti Cinta Sabah was the only party to contest the 73 state seats, followed by Warisan (53), United Sabah National Organization (47), LDP (46), BN (41), PN (29), Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (28), Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (23), PBS (22) and Upko (12), among others.
He said there were multiple-corner fights across all seats, the lowest being the three-way battles and the highest with 11 candidates vying for one seat, the Bengkoka seat in the Kudat parliamentary area.
“There are 15 battles to five, 26 battles to six, 13 battles to seven, six to eight and three to nine (among others),” he told reporters here today.
On the candidates, Ghani said there were 404 men and 43 women.
He said there were 11 candidates between the ages of 18 and 29; 58 candidates between 30 and 39 years old; and 98 candidates between 40 and 49 years old.
The largest number of candidates with 149 were those between 50 and 59 years old, while those over 60 were 131 people.
“The youngest candidate is 22 years old and standing in Tandek, while the oldest is 75 years old competing for the Bugaya seat in the Semporna parliamentary constituency,” he said.
Ghani said that the EC expects a 75% voter turnout despite the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are imploring everyone, particularly the media, to encourage people to go out and vote on September 26,” he said.
He added that the EC has appointed 163 observers from government agencies and NGOs to monitor the electoral process.
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