BN to start preparing for P. Pauh by-election - Khairy

Barisan Nasional (BN) will take all the necessary steps and measures in the preparation and selection of candidate for the Permatang Pauh Parliamentary by-election.

BN Youth chairman Khairy Jamaluddin said the party would discuss details about the preparations to face the by-election to ensure all parties are involved in the selection of the candidate.

"We have to choose a winnable candidate. We have not started any discussion but normally the candidate selected will be a local because the BN party always gives priority to a local candidate who has all the qualities of a winnable candidate," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby, here today.

Yesterday, Dewan Pakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was officially disqualified as Permatang Pauh MP as his petition for a royal pardon by his family on Feb 24, was rejected.

READ: Royal pardon rejected, Anwar disqualified as MP

Anwar is currently serving a five-year prison term after a five-man bench led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria found Anwar guilty of having carnal intercourse with his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Yesterday, Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh said the EC would convene a special meeting on April 8, to discuss the Permatang Pauh by-election.

In the 2013 General Election, Anwar retained the Permatang Pauh seat by defeating BN's Dr Mazlan Ismail by a 11,721-vote majority which was a reduced margin compared with the 2008 election when he (Anwar) had won by a 15,671-vote majority.