KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) has retained power in Kedah with a two-thirds majority win in the state election held yesterday.
According to data released by the Election Commission (EC) at 11pm, PN secured 30 of the 36 seats at stake to fend off the challenge by rivals Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional (BN), who only managed to win three seats.
Prior to the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on June 28, PN held 20 seats (PAS – 14, Bersatu – 6); Harapan was represented in 10 (PKR – five, Amanah – three, DAP – two); BN held two (Umno – two) and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (two).
Two other seats were left vacant after Gurun state assemblyman Datuk Johari Abdul of PKR vacated his seat on December 18 last year, when he was appointed as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, and following the death of Belantek state assemblyman Datuk Mohd Isa Shafie on June 14.
EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said PN had won 19 out of 36 state seats contested in Kedah, as of 10.20pm.
“With this (PN) has managed to obtain a majority of more than 50 per cent of the number of seats contested,” he said in a press conference at the EC Headquarters yesterday night.
Meanwhile, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, representing Perikatan Nasional (PN), managed to retain his Jeneri state seat.
The PAS member won the seat with a 16,050-vote majority after securing 21,823 votes in a straight fight against Datuk Muhamad Khizri Abu Kassim of BN, who garnered only 5,773 votes.
The official result was announced by Returning Officer Mahamad Suhaimi Man at the vote-tallying centre, at Dewan Muhammad Abduh SMK Agama Sik yesterday night.
During the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, Muhammad Sanusi won the seat after defeating Mahadzir Abdul Hamid (BN) and Mohd Nazri Abu Jassan (Harapan) with a 2,455-vote majority.
Elsewhere, PAS has managed to form the state governments in Terengganu and Kelantan after obtaining simple majorities in the state elections.
Abdul Ghani said PAS won 17 out of 32 state seats in Terengganu as of 9.45pm, and 23 out of 45 state seats in Kelantan as of 9.56pm.
“With this, (PAS) has managed to obtain majorities of more than 50 per cent from the total of state seats contested (in Terengganu and Kelantan),” he said in a media conference here tonight.
State elections for Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah were held simultaneously, along with the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election.
According to the EC, Terengganu recorded the highest voter turnout at 70 per cent, while Kelantan had a 56 per cent voter turnout as of 4pm.
The Kelantan and Terengganu state governments had previously announced that today will be a special holiday in conjunction with the state elections.
PAS previously won 37 out of the 45 seats in Kelantan and 22 out of the 32 seats in Terengganu during GE14.
Similar to Muhammad Sanusi, Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob retained his Pasir Pekan seat for the seventh consecutive term in the state elections.
Based on the EC’s results data, the 72-year-old Kelantan PAS commissioner defended the seat with a 12,811-vote majority.
He polled 18,783 votes to defeat Mohamad Zamakh Sari Ibrahim of BN, who obtained 5,972 votes.
In GE14, Ahmad won the Pasir Pekan seat with a majority of 8,352 votes, defeating BN and Harapan candidates.
Ahmad, who is also the PAS deputy spiritual leader, has been the incumbent for the Pasir Pekan seat since the 9th General Election in 1995.
— Bernama
