The Election Commission (EC) today fixed Oct 3 (Saturday) for nomination and Oct 11 (Sunday) for polling for the Bagan Pinang state seat by-election in Negeri Sembilan.

azlan There will be a eight-day campaigning period.

The dates were announced by EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof at a press conference today.

Abdul Aziz said there are 13,664 voters in Bagan Pinang, of which 9,060 are normal voters while the remainder 4,604 are postal voters. The large number of postal voters are due to the presence of several army camps in the constituency.

This is the ninth by-election since the 12th general election in March last year.

The seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Barisan Nasional assemblyperson Azman Mohammad Noor on Sept 4 due to blood infection.

EC defends postal votes

Talking to reporters after announcing the dates, Abdul Aziz said the commission will not change its normal practice to allow postal votes to be cast on the polling day, as requested by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Abdul Aziz explained that postal voting is conducted two to three days prior to the actual polling day.

Stressing that this has been the standard practice thus far, he said that he will not entertain any request to change the system.

"We cannot just make changes at their whims and fancies as we have to consider other matters as well. Those in the armed forces and the police have their duties to attend to. As such, they can vote in advance.

"We have to consider the safety of our country. If everyone votes on the same day, who will guard the safety of our country?" he asked.

Abdul Aziz added that the votes cast by the postal voters were as secretive as those marked by the others.

"Nobody knows except that person. He can 'pangkah' whomever he likes," he said.

The EC chief also invited members of the opposition to send representatives to witness the postal voting and vote counting process.

"In the last by-election, some did not send representatives from their respective parties. They must this time," he said.

‘You cannot cheat'

Abdul Aziz also gave his assurance that phantom postal votes would be impossible in the by-election.

Abdul Aziz said postal voting is held under strict security and adhered to the procedures.

"The postal bags are sealed and they are endorsed by an EC officer and the candidates' agents, who pen their signatures on the bags.

"As the postal bags are sealed, if they are opened, the signatures will be torn. If other materials are inserted into the bags, definitely they can be detected. You cannot cheat.

"This time come and see and observe properly. And then you tell me, how you can cheat. Some party representatives chose to stay away despite being invited by the EC to the postal voting stations," he added.

The high number of postal votes in this constituency has caused some concern for the opposition.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng gave the opposition only a 40 percent chance of winning the by-election, claiming that BN will traditionally the majority of the postal votes.

In an immediate reaction, PAS said it will be meeting with the EC on Sept 28 to discuss procedures for postal voting, which the party considers as not transparent and open to manipulation.

Its vice-president, Salahuddin Ayub, said PAS would push for a review of the postal voting system.

Malay-majority seat

In the general election in March 2008, Azman defeated PAS' Ramli Ismail with a majority of 2,333 votes. He polled 6,430 votes against Ramli's 4,097.

Malay majority seat Bagan Pinang is part of the Teluk Kemang parliamentary seat in Port Dickson with voters from the community making up 66 per cent of the electorate.

NONE Of the four other state seats in Teluk Kemang, three - Port Dickson, Chuah and Lukut - are under the opposition while BN holds Linggi.

Last week, the Teluk Kemang Umno division unanimously nominated division chief Isa Samad as a candidate for the seat.

Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan PAS has identified three "well-qualified" locals to be considered as the candidates but did not reveal them.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Hadi Awang said yesterday that the names had been submitted to PAS' central leadership for deliberation.