KOTA KINABALU: The stage is set for the 17th Sabah State Election, with a record-breaking 596 candidates vying for 73 seats as nominations closed on Saturday (Nov 15).
It is shaping up to be a tight race, with multi-cornered contests across the state: four-horse races being the minimum, and one constituency even seeing a 14-way battle.
Confirmed candidates include 74 independents, 73 from Parti Warisan, 72 from Parti Impian Sabah, 55 from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), 46 from Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), 45 from Barisan Nasional (BN), 42 from Perikatan Nasional (PN), and 40 from Parti KDM.
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan alliance has fielded 22 candidates.
The Election Commission said 525 of the candidates are men and 71 are women. The youngest is 24, while the oldest is 86.
The nomination process, covering 73 state constituencies, was conducted at 25 centres across Sabah.
Confirmed candidates can begin campaigning for 14 days, until 11.59pm on Nov 28.
More than 1.7 million Sabahans are set to head to the ballot boxes on Nov 29 to cast their votes in the state polls, with early voting scheduled for Nov 25.
Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor had announced the official dissolution of the state legislative assembly on Oct 6.
Of the 79 seats in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly, 73 must be contested, with another six to be appointed by the governor.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/record-596-candidates-in-sabah-polls-all-seats-see-multi-cornered-fights-one-14-way-race-5469461
