KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional is expected to announce the names of candidates contesting in the 17th Sabah State Election one week before the nomination day, says its chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the UMNO President, said Barisan would also announce the total number of State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats the party would contest on the day of the candidate announcement.
“BN will not contest in all 73 DUNs, and we will scrutinise the focus areas,” he told Bernama on Thursday (Oct 16)
Commenting on the readiness for the election, Ahmad Zahid said Barisan would redouble its efforts to achieve victory in every DUN contested, following the defeat suffered in the 16th Sabah State Election in 2020.
Ahmad Zahid also reiterated Barisan’s stance not to cooperate with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in this state election, but admitted that it requires political cooperation with other parties to form the state government.
“So far, no analyst has mentioned that any single party or coalition can form a government with a majority, meaning the political reality in Sabah must involve collaboration, especially pre-election and post-election cooperation,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said he had received a list of candidates, with at least three to five names for each DUN to be contested.
The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 29 as the polling day for the 17th Sabah State Election, while nomination is set for Nov 15 and early voting on Nov 25.
On Oct 6, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor announced the dissolution of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly to pave the way for the state election.
The Sabah State Assembly has 79 seats, with 73 of them being contested, while the other six are appointed Members of the State Legislative Assembly (ADUNs). – Bernama
