An election petition has been filed to challenge the outcome of the Rembau parliamentary seat in Negeri Sembilan won by Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin in the March 8 polls.

khairy jamaluddin and badrul hisham and rembau The petition notes several alleged irregularities - chief of which being the discrepancy in the number of ballots issued.

The petition was filed by Khairy's contender - PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin - in the Seremban High Court on April 25.

Contacted today, Badrul's lawyer and PKR treasurer William Leong said the petition was filed to challenge the validity of the results and to "nullify the results on the grounds of irregularities."

rembau parliamentary seat 2008 results Commenting on the number of ballots issued, he said: "The numbers do not tally. There is an additional 745 ballots that can't be explained."

The total number of ballots issued for the parliamentary seat was 48,901 but for the four state seats under it (Paroi, Chembong, Rantau and Kota), a total of 49,646 ballots were issued.

Khairy - who is Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son-in-law - won the seat with a thumping 5,746-vote majority.

The 32-year-old fledgling politician, who is serving his first term as an elected representative, has been one of the main targets of those critical of the Abdullah administration.

He has been accused of wielding tremendous influence over his father-in-law while some have gone to the extent of calling him the de facto prime minister.

Khairy has consistently denied the allegations.

Campaign material burnt

In the petition, Badrul claimed that he failed to receive Form 14 and that several voting stations were not provided with the forms as well.

Form 14 is a document listing the total number of voters at every polling station and is used as an indicator that allocates the number of votes for the respective candidates once vote-counting concludes.

anwar ceramah in rembau 150208 poster Apart from this, Badrul also alleged that PKR campaign paraphernalia were burnt, torn and stolen.

He claimed that police reports and complaints with the Election Commission (EC) on this matter went unheeded.

Badrul also accused the local authorities of lending a hand to his rival by denying him the right to utilise the Rembau Municipal Council field while Khairy was allowed to do so during his campaign.

Among the other allegations was the partial restrictions imposed on the number of PKR supporters in the polling stations and in the returning centre during the elections.

"There are many glaring irregularities in this aspect," said Leong.

The EC has also been named as a respondent in the petition - which is one of six filed by the opposition following the elections.