CHUKAI – Barisan Nasional (BN) is expected to contest 45% of the 245 state seats in the six state elections, while the rest will be contested by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the decision was made based on the seats won by BN and PH in the last general election.
“This is based on the existing seats. That’s why component parties in PH get more.
“We will announce the statistics when everything is finalised,” he told reporters at the Aidiladha Korban Perdana sacrificial ceremony and people’s feast organised by BN at Pantai Penunjuk near here today.
Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, said BN would contest more than 100 state seats, and the final decision would be made by him and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim soon.
The elections in six states involve 36 state constituencies in Kedah, Kelantan (45), Terengganu (32), Penang (40), Selangor (56) and Negri Sembilan (36).
“The prime minister and I will discuss for the last time next week for all six states...we have also been able to resolve overlapping seats.
“God-willing, we will also name the candidates for the seats allocated to BN and PH.
“The political bureau has decided that for each state constituency, the state liaison committee will suggest at least three candidates,” he said.
Zahid said the evaluation and selection of candidates would be based on qualities such as commitment, integrity, capability and winnability.
“It’ll be based on the chances of winning, acceptability and voters’ support.
“After being shortlisted, we will also do a health screening to determine that each candidate is ‘clean’ in terms of appearance, physicality and has a good level of health,” he said. – Bernama, July 1, 2023
