BAGAN DATUK, Oct 16 — At least 70 per cent of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates to contest in the 15th General Election (GE15) will be new faces, said its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said those who will be nominated are individuals of calibre, have academic qualifications, and are highly committed to helping the people.

According to Ahmad Zahid, who is also Bagan Datuk Umno Division chief, the coalition will also try to meet the demand that 30 per cent of BN candidates are women.

He admitted that the decision was difficult, but needed to be done to ensure that the people could see that BN was making changes to meet the needs of the people.

"I need to be fair and as party president and BN chairman, it is also necessary for me to keep the old faces so that the partnership is stable and balanced,” he said while opening the Bagan Datuk UMNO Division delegates meeting, here, today.

However, Ahmad Zahid stressed that the full selection of candidates has not been finalised and is still under scrutiny by the party's top leadership.

According to him, BN will contest in 191 of the 222 parliamentary seats and for the first time, the Friends of BN parties will also be given the opportunity to contest on the BN ticket.

Friends of BN is made up of Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM), All Malaysian Indian Progress Front (IPF), Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA), Malaysian United Indian Party (MUIP), Makkal Sakti and Punjabi Party of Malaysia (PPM). — Bernama