PKR Selangau sub-branch members raise their arms to celebrate the victory following the official announcement of Baru’s victory.
SELANGAU: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) state chairman Baru Bian secured his maiden parliamentary election win when he took the Selangau seat with a majority of 486 votes.
He received 11,228 votes to trump Rita Insol of Barisan Nasional (BN), who managed 10,742 votes. There were 334 spoilt votes, and voter turnout was 74.4 per cent.
Returning Officer Enting @ Inting Nyami announced the result at Selangau Multipurpose Hall at 8.50pm yesterday, to shouts of joy from Baru’s supporters.
Baru, who stood in Limbang in the last parliamentary election, was not present at the hall as he is said to have returned to Kuching.
A total of 80 ballot boxes were brought to the counting centre, with the final one arriving at 8pm.
Speaking to reporters after the announcement, former Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) supreme council member Adriana Chumang said she was disappointed with the result.
She believed that one of the factors behind Rita’s loss was the sacking of former incumbent Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun as deputy president of PRS.
“I am very disappointed because all this while, Selangau is a BN stronghold. However, this is the voice of the people so we have to accept it,” she said.