GE15: PN wins Padang Serai seat with 16,260-vote majority

KULIM: Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Datuk Azman Nasrudin has won the Padang Serai parliamentary seat previously held by Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 15th General Election (GE15) today.

The election results were announced by returning officer Datuk Abdul Bari Abdullah at about 10.55 pm at the official vote tallying centre at the Kulim Hi-Tech Sports Complex Hall here.

Azman, who is also Lunas assemblyman, garnered 51,637 votes to defeat five other candidates with a majority of 16,260 votes.

PH candidate Dr Mohamad Sofee Razak obtained 35,377 votes, followed by Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk C. Sivaraj (2,983 votes), Independent candidate Sreanandha Rao (846 votes), Pejuang candidate Hamzah Abd Rahman (424 votes) and Warisan candidate Mohd Bakhri Hashim (149 votes).

Sivaraj and Mohd Bakhri had withdrawn from the contest to give way to PH candidate Mohamad Sofee. However, their names remained on the ballot papers based on elections regulations which stated that the status of candidates could not be changed after their nominations were accepted.

Several PN leaders were also present to witness the victory of the coalition's candidate, including state PN chairman who is also Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) announced that the voter turnout after all 46 polling stations closed at 6 pm today was 68.95 per cent.

PN's victory in Padang Serai saw the coalition successfully increase the number of parliamentary seats it won in GE15 on Nov 19 to 74 seats nationwide, and strengthened its position in Kedah after winning 14 out of 15 parliamentary seats in the state.

PH remained with 82 seats, BN (30), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (23), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six), Warisan (three), Independents (two), while Parti Bangsa Malaysia and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) has one seat each.

The polling for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat was postponed following the death of PH candidate M. Karupaiya on Nov 16.

-- BERNAMA