PAS wins by 65 votes
KUALA KRAI: PAS retained the Manek Urai state seat with a slim majority of 65 votes.
Its candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, 50, garnered 5,348 votes while Barisan Nasional’s Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat, 39, secured 5,283 votes.
The official result was announced by returning officer Adnan Hussein at 9pm at the tallying centre at the SMK Sultan Yahya Petra 1.
It was a far cry from the 1,352 votes majority that PAS had secured here in last year’s general election.
Still, Mohd Fauzi said the results was a glorious victory as he had triumphed against a reputable opponent.
He added that he would rest for a few days before getting down to the business of serving his constituents.
Kelantan opposition chief Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad, however, called the result a slap in the face for Kelantan PAS.
He said initial analysis showed that younger voters were turning away from the party.
“The result from stream two showed that voters aged between 30 and 50 had voted for Barisan.
“We also won in Manek Urai Lama and Manek Urai Baru. Because of this, the Federal Government should build a new bridge linking the two areas,” he added.
Kelantan PAS deputy commissioner II Datuk Husam Musa meanwhile brushed off talk that the slim majority was a sign of eroding support for PAS.
“A win is still a win,” he said.
Husam alleged that rampant money politics was the reason PAS had won with a very slim majority this time.
The Manek Urai state seat fell vacant when PAS assemblyman Ismail Yaacob died of a heart attack in May.
PAS has never lost in Manek Urai in the last 20 years, except in 2004 when the late Ismail Yaacob did not contest.
About 87% or 10,631 of the 12,293 voters came out to cast their ballots.
Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the percentage was higher than the EC’s target of 85%.
“We are happy with the turnout. This is among the highest percentage in the country’s by-election history,” he said.
source : thestar.com.my
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