KT by-election: Nomination today

Voters in Kuala Terengganu will know today on the number candidates who would be contesting for the constituency’s by-election come Jan 17.

As it stands, Barisan Nasional’s Wan Ahmad Farid and PAS’ Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut are two confirmed candidates, pending any objections and disqualifications.

One other person - Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia vice-president Harun Mohamad – has also indicated his interest in filing his nomination today. At least one independent candidate is expected to join the fray as well.

The Election Commission had so far sold nine nomination forms.

The nomination process starts at 9am and nomination papers will be accepted until 10am. And then for the next one hour, the nomination papers would be put on display to the public for scrutiny and to file any objections.

After that the returning officer will peruse the objections to decide whether to accept or reject a nomination. He will then make an official announcement on the candidates that will contest for the by-election, usually by 12 noon.

After this, the contesting parties can officially start campaigning.

The by-election, to be held after 11 days of campaigning, is held following the sudden death of incumbent BN representative Razali Ismail on Nov 28.

There are a total of 80,229 voters in this constituency.

And as usual, a big crowd is expected to accompany both Wan Ahmad and Mohd Abdul Wahid while they make their way to the nomination centre.

The police have said that they were on standby in case of any crowd trouble.

For Mohd Abdul Wahid, more than 1,000 of his supporters had started gathering near Wisma Persekutuan in Kuala Terengganu, some two kilometers away from the nomination centre since 8am.

At about 8.55am, Mohd Abdul Wahid started leading a procession from there to the nomination centre after conducting prayers at a mosque.

He was first to arrive at the nomination centre at 9.15am and was seen entering the building.

As for Wan Ahmad, he was accompanied by more than 5,000 supporters, including Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said, MCA president Ong Tee Keat, Gerakan chief Dr Koh Tsu Koon, MIC leader S Subramaniam and other BN leaders.

Wan Ahmad entered the nomination centre at 9.03pm. He was followed by Mohd Wahid and then Akim's Harun entered the centre at 9.20am. A fourth candidate - believed to be an independent - entered the nomination centre at about 9.27am.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the police have manned roadblocks in Kuala Terengganu as about 30,000 BN and 15,000 PAS have gathered for the nomination.

[More to follow]