PETALING JAYA, July 11 — DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said the candidate list for next month’s Penang state election still has not been finalised.
He told reporters at Sunway University that it would be announced after a meeting of the DAP central executive committee, which he said would also decide on the party’s strategy for the elections.
“(The Penang candidate list) has not yet been finalised. It will be discussed in the next couple of days and will be announced,” he said.
However, he said DAP would enter the state elections with full commitment and unity once the candidates were decided.
He said he had just met state DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow to discuss possible strategies for the election, which he said must be tailored to maximise the party’s chances of winning, especially as Penang is regarded as DAP’s stronghold.
Penang has 40 state seats, and in the 14th general election, Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 37, including two by Bersatu when it was still under PH, while Barisan Nasional (BN) won two, and PAS, one.
On Friday, Chow, who is also the caretaker Penang chief minister, was reported by national news agency Bernama as saying that no issues had arisen during the seat allocation talks with BN.
Before that on Wednesday, the Election Commission (EC) announced that polling day for the six states going to the state polls will be on August 12.
Nomination day for Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu will be on July 29, giving candidates 14 days to campaign officially.