KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai has asked party members to focus on state elections expected to be held in six states next year.

He said now that the 15th general election (GE15) is over, the party machinery is ready to face the state elections in Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu.

He added that voter support for the party and Perikatan Nasional (PN) had increased in the recent GE15.

"We found that 34 per cent of first-time voters, especially Malays, had voted and given their support for PN.

"Apart from this, there was an increase in votes for Gerakan candidates in the last Melaka and Johor state elections,” he told a press conference after a post-GE15 review meeting here today.

Meanwhile, Lau said the party will also help campaign for the PN candidates in the Padang Serai parliamentary seat in Kedah and the Tioman state assembly seat in Pahang after the election for both these seats was postponed.

The Election Commission (EC) had set polling day for both seats on Dec 7 and early voting on Dec 3, with a 13-day campaign period starting after nomination day (Nov 24) and ending at 11.59pm on Dec 6. — Bernama