The ruling Barisan Nasional won a repeat ballot for a state constituency seat which was boycotted by the opposition Islamic party PAS.

The poll in Sungai Lembing in Pahang was being repeated after the Election Commission nullified the March 21 general election vote for the seat because of a mix-up of party symbols in the ballot papers.

BN's Mohamed Sohaimi Mohamed Shah secured an expected victory over PAS candidate Idris Ahmad, the official Bernama news agency reported late yesterday.

Mohamed obtained 5,949 votes while Idris got 544, with some 56 percent of the 11,790 registered voters casting their ballots.

Severe blow

PAS, which suffered a severe blow in the parliamentary elections, had earlier said it would boycott the repeat ballot to protest against alleged irregularities in the national polls.

"We are boycotting the state election to protest against the failure of the election commission to conduct a fair election," Hatta Ramli, a party central committee member.

Opposition parties and election watchdogs have pressed commission chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman and his team to quit over alleged mishandling of the general election, which the government won by a landslide.

PAS retained control in its northern stronghold state of Kelantan with the slimmest of majorities, but lost power in neighbouring Terengganu and was thumped in elections to the federal parliament. - AFP