Interactive: 512 Candidates Named So Far for State Polls

Penang election commission officer K. Kumaran and his colleagues preparing for nomination day for the Batu Uban constituency at the SJKC Kwang Hwa in Bayan Lepas, Penang. ( July 27,2023 ). —ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
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A total of 512 candidates from nine parties have been named to contest the elections in six states ahead of nomination day on Saturday.

Since last week, parties have started announcing their candidates for the 245 state seats in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

The aspirants will only be confirmed once the Election Commission approves their candidacies on nomination day.

Based on the names announced so far, the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional pact are set to clash with Perikatan Nasional in 243 of the 245 seats.

The two exceptions the Jeram Padang and Sri Tanjung seats in Negri Sembilan, where Perikatan has yet to identify who it will field.

Umno, the sole Barisan component party contesting in the state polls, has named 108 candidates.

Pakatan has named 137 candidates, comprising 59 from PKR, 47 from DAP, and 31 from Amanah.

They will be up against Perikatan, which has named candidates for 243 seats, made up of PAS (127), Bersatu (79), and Gerakan (37).

Other parties that have named candidates so far are Muda with 20 candidates and PSM with four.

The last time the six states voted for their state assembly was during the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018.

In GE14, a total of 803 candidates from 16 parties contested for state seats in the six states.

Analysts expect fewer candidates this time around due to the formation of the Pakatan-Barisan pact, which paves the way for a straight fight with Perikatan that leaves little space for independents and other parties.