KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — The nomination of candidates for the 15th general election is scheduled for tomorrow nationwide for the 222 parliamentary seats and 59 state seats in Perak, Pahang (42) and Perlis (15).

The nomination of candidates for Bugaya state by-election in Sabah will also be held at the same time.

The period for submission of the nomination papers is between 9 am and 10 am at 222 nomination centres located at, among other places, district offices, community halls and school halls.

The Election Commission set Nov 19 for polling and Nov 15 for early voting.

The campaign period is set for 14 days, starting tomorrow after the announcement of candidates contesting in the polls until 11.59 pm on Nov 18.

Before the dissolution of the 14th Parliament on Oct 10, the composition of seats in the Dewan Rakyat saw Pakatan Harapan (PH) held 90 seats, followed by Barisan Nasional (BN) (43), Bersatu (28), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) (19), PAS (17), Warisan (seven), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) (six), Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) (four), Independents (three), and Muda, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and STAR having one seat each.

Two seats remain vacant following the death of the incumbents, Datuk Hasbullah Osman (BN-Gerik) and Datuk Liew Vui Keong (Warisan-Batu Sapi).

At the state level, only Perak, Pahang and Perlis had dissolved their state assemblies to allow the state elections to be held simultaneously with GE15.

The PH-controlled states of Penang, Negri Sembilan and Selangor as well as the PAS-led states of Terengganu, Kelantan and Kedah have opted not to hold their state elections with the general election.

Other states held their state polls separately over the last two years, with Sabah having its elections on Sept 26, 2020; Melaka (Nov 20, 2021); Sarawak (Dec 18, 2021) and Johor (March 12, 2022).

The Bugaya seat fell vacant after the death of its assemblyman Manis Muka Mohd Darah on Nov 17, 2020 but the by-election was postponed following the proclamation of an emergency to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Effective Oct 6 this year, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah consented to lifting six ordinances and emergency proclamations which were declared in November and December 2020 to postpone the Batu Sapi and Gerik parliamentary by-elections and the Bugaya state by-election.

The electoral rolls to be used for GE15, the state polls and the Bugaya by-election would be the latest August 2022 Additional Electoral Roll as updated on Oct 9, 2022.

The GE15 electoral rolls contain 21,173,638 voters. Of this number, 20,905,366 are ordinary voters, 146,737 are army personnel and their spouses, 118,794 are police personnel, including from the General Operations Force, and their spouses, and 2,741 are absentee voters abroad.

In GE14, a total of 2,333 candidates had filed their nomination papers to contest 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats. On Nomination Day, the BN won the Rantau state seat in Negeri Sembilan unopposed.

The nomination of candidates for GE15 tomorrow is eagerly awaited following the emergence of new political coalitions that are likely to cause at least three to four-cornered fights in most parliamentary seats. — Bernama