GEORGE TOWN, July 5 — The period available before the nomination day for the six state elections is sufficient for all parties to carry out preparations, said caretaker Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Chow said the time given before nomination day is held is the longest in the history of the country’s state polls during which matters related to the nomination of candidates and so forth could be completed.
“As for the 14-day campaigning period before polling day which is the same as before, it is sufficient,” he said in a statement today.
The Election Commission (EC) today announced that the state elections in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan will be held simultaneously with nominations set for July 29, early voting on August 8 and polling day on August 12.
The Penang state assembly which consists of 40 seats, was officially dissolved on June 28 to make way for the state polls.
In the 14th general election (GE14), Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 37 of the 40 seats, including two which were won by Bersatu candidates who were with PH at the time, while Barisan Nasional (BN) won two seats and PAS (one).
In February 2020, Bersatu announced it has quit PH and was joining Perikatan Nasional (PN) causing two Penang Bersatu assemblymen Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifli Md Lazim (Teluk Bahang) to withdraw their support for the state government under PH.
Meanwhile, two state PKR assemblymen namely Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya) and Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh) were sacked from the party.
Before the dissolution of the Penang state assembly, PH held 33 seats, BN (two), Bersatu (four) and PAS, one seat. — Bernama
