BINTULU, Oct 21 — Nomination for the Jepak state by-election is opening at 9am today at Dewan Suarah, here.
The process is scheduled to last for an hour, after which the returning officer, Abang Zainuddin Abang Turkey, will announce the candidates for the by-election.
The by-election is being held following the death of assemblyman Datuk Talib Zulpilip, 72, of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) on September 15.
In the 2021 state election, Talib secured the Jepak seat with a 4,243-vote majority. The Election Commission had announced that polling day will be held on November 4 and early voting on October 31.
However, Abang Zainuddin said yesterday that no early voting centres will be opened on October 31 as all 43 early voters who are police personnel would cast their ballots via postal votes.
On Wednesday, GPS named former state director of the National Anti-Drug Agency Iskandar Turkee as its candidate for the by-election.
Before that, two local opposition parties had announced their candidates to challenge GPS. There were also rumours of several independent candidates joining the contest.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional, in a statement on Wednesday, said it would not field a candidate to focus on defending the Kemaman parliamentary seat in Terengganu in a by-election on December 2.
Sarawak Keadilan said it had taken the same measure to maintain the harmony of the Unity Government at the federal level.
The constituency has 22,804 registered voters, a majority of whom are from the Malay/Melanau ethnic group.
— Bernama
