Barisan Nasional has taken an early lead in the Kinabatangan parliamentary by-election, according to early unofficial results.
BN candidate Naim Kurniawan Moktar is said to have secured 4,815 votes, putting him well ahead of his two rivals – Warisan’s Saddi Abdul Rahman with 1,523 votes, and independent candidate Goldam Hamid with 349 votes.
There are a total of 48,722 registered voters, comprising 48,526 ordinary voters, and 196 police personnel and their spouses who voted early, in the by-election.
As of 3pm, voter turnout was 50.37% for the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat and 55.16% for the Lamag state seat. All polling stations closed at 5.30pm.
A total of 36 polling centres with 117 polling streams opened simultaneously at 7.30am.
The by-elections were triggered by the death of the incumbent, Bung Moktar Radin, 66, in early December. Naim is Moktar’s son.
The official results are expected to be announced by returning officer Eddy Syaizul Rizam Abdullah at 10pm at the earliest.
