KUCHING: As the clock ticked closer to midnight, no candidate had withdrawn his or her candidacy from the election, revealed state election director Datu Takun Sunggah.
According to him, any candidate wishing to withdraw during the three-day grace period will have to get his or her witness to sign a withdrawal letter which must be handed over to the returning officer before midnight (last night).
However, the RM5,000 deposit would be forfeited even if the candidate withdrew at the last minute, Takun stressed.
“Those who withdraw during the three-day grace period will only have their names struck off from the ballot papers,” Takun told the sundaypost here yesterday.
On a related issue, Takun revealed that only one candidate in Kakus was rejected during nomination day as his proposer and seconder did not sign the nomination form.
On logistics, Takun revealed that all the 24 helicopters and two fixed wing aircrafts chartered by the Election Commission (EC) have arrived in Kuching airport together with their pilots.
“These aircrafts have to be chartered for the 10-day campaigning period leading to polling day on April 16.
This is because it is not easy to charter any helicopter or fixed wing aircraft for only two days.
“However, other forms of transportation such as longboats and four-wheel-drive vehicles will only be chartered for two days for polling day,” said Takun.
Meanwhile, a random survey indicated that most candidates were firm in not withdrawing from the race.
This includes Padungan incumbent Dominique Ng who is standing as an independent candidate after he was snubbed by PKR.
He was quoted as saying that he was still a winnable candidate despite being asked by PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to back off.
“I respect her wish but deep in her heart she still thinks that I am a winnable candidate,” Ng was quoted as saying.
Wan Azizah had urged Ng to withdraw as he had agreed to support and campaign for the opposition.
PR had wanted a straight fight with BN in Padungan, which is represented by Wong King Wei of DAP. BN is represented by Sim Kiang Chiok of SUPP.
According to him, any candidate wishing to withdraw during the three-day grace period will have to get his or her witness to sign a withdrawal letter which must be handed over to the returning officer before midnight (last night).
However, the RM5,000 deposit would be forfeited even if the candidate withdrew at the last minute, Takun stressed.
“Those who withdraw during the three-day grace period will only have their names struck off from the ballot papers,” Takun told the sundaypost here yesterday.
On a related issue, Takun revealed that only one candidate in Kakus was rejected during nomination day as his proposer and seconder did not sign the nomination form.
On logistics, Takun revealed that all the 24 helicopters and two fixed wing aircrafts chartered by the Election Commission (EC) have arrived in Kuching airport together with their pilots.
“These aircrafts have to be chartered for the 10-day campaigning period leading to polling day on April 16.
This is because it is not easy to charter any helicopter or fixed wing aircraft for only two days.
“However, other forms of transportation such as longboats and four-wheel-drive vehicles will only be chartered for two days for polling day,” said Takun.
Meanwhile, a random survey indicated that most candidates were firm in not withdrawing from the race.
This includes Padungan incumbent Dominique Ng who is standing as an independent candidate after he was snubbed by PKR.
He was quoted as saying that he was still a winnable candidate despite being asked by PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to back off.
“I respect her wish but deep in her heart she still thinks that I am a winnable candidate,” Ng was quoted as saying.
Wan Azizah had urged Ng to withdraw as he had agreed to support and campaign for the opposition.
PR had wanted a straight fight with BN in Padungan, which is represented by Wong King Wei of DAP. BN is represented by Sim Kiang Chiok of SUPP.
Ng stood on a PKR ticket in the 2006 state election when he defeated BN candidate Lily Yong with a majority of 1,417 votes.