LIVE | Sofee accepts defeat, berates PN for using race card

Polling in the Padang Serai parliamentary seat in Kedah and Tioman state seat in Pahang has closed.

Malaysiakini brings you live updates on the results.

12am: Thank you for following our live updates for the Padang Serai and Tioman elections. Have a great day!

Sofee acknowledges defeat in Padang Serai

11.30pm: Harapan candidate Mohamad Sofee Razak respects the verdict of the Padang Serai voters but says it was not a “level fight” as his opponent from Perikatan Nasional (PN) used race and religion to “scare Malay voters in the rural areas”.

“PN leaders used racial and religious issues to poison the minds of Undi18 voters as they are innocent and believed the lies of PN leaders that there is a threat to the Malays and Islam in the country.

“It is not true but PN leaders capitalised on these issues to win the election. They used these issues as their ‘bullets’ to win the election,” he says.

Sofee warns that this “poison” sown by PN in the minds of the youths will be passed down to the next generation.

“It is very dangerous for the future generation and of our nation.

“I hope and believe that the unity government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will rectify this cancerous problem in the next five years to take the nation and our youths in the right direction,” he says.

PN wins Padang Serai, bags over 56pct of votes

10.40pm: With all 233 ballot boxes counted, PN wins Padang Serai with a 16,260 vote majority, and 56.5 percent of the popular vote.

Harapan, meanwhile, wins just 38.7 percent of the votes.

In 2018, Harapan - with Bersatu's support - won the seat with just 45.3 percent of the votes after a large number of opposition voters backed PAS - which received 32.7 percent of the ballots.

Meanwhile, BN bags 2,983 votes in today's polling despite dropping out of the race.

However, with just 3.3 percent of the votes, it will lose its deposit.

Pejuang, Warisan and the independent candidate will also lose their deposits.

PN's win in Padang Serai means it now has 74 seats in Parliament.

Over in Tioman, BN wins the seat with 48.9 percent of votes - while Harapan had 4.7 percent.

PN garners 45.5 percent of votes in the Pahang state seat.

Unofficial: PN victorious Padang Serai

10.20pm: With an estimated 70 percent turnout, and 214 out of 233 ballot boxes counted, Malaysiakini is calling the Padang Serai seat for PN.

PN has about 16,000 votes lead over Harapan and has crossed the 50 percent threshold estimated by Malaysiakini.

BN bags Tioman state seat

9.50pm: BN officially wins in Tioman with a 573 vote majority.

Harapan - which bowed out from the race, lost its deposit as did Pejuang and independent candidate Sulaiman Bakar.

Pejuang is on track to lose its deposit in Padang Serai as well.

PN now leads with over 12k votes in Padang Serai

9.40pm: PN's majority over Harapan is now over 12,000 votes.

While there is an estimated 28,000 votes yet to be counted, the trend is not looking good for Harapan.

An unofficial win is within reach for PN.

PN election director Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and Arau MP Shahidan Kassim are already at the EC tallying centre, anticipating victory.

PN backers gather at Kulim Hi-tech Sports Complex

9.15pm: Officials are still counting votes for the Padang Serai polls at the official tallying centre in Kulim Hi-tech Sports Complex.

Malaysiakini's observations found hundreds of PN supporters gathered around the tallying centre.

A number of food and beverage stalls have also been set up in the area by local traders.

Meanwhile, EC officers are still seen bringing in newly-arrived ballot boxes.

PN’s Azman leading Padang Serai, Harapan trailing

9.10pm: With 114 of 233 boxes counted, PN is leading in Padang Serai by almost 10,000 votes.

PN's Azman Nasruddin has 25,347 votes, while Harapan's Mohamad Sofee Razak has 15,685 votes.

Meanwhile, BN's C Sivarraajh received 1,614 votes despite dropping out of the race.

Despite trailing by a wide margin, Sofee appears calm and collected.

Party workers and supporters in the operations room appear hopeful that they can catch up.

Unofficial: BN wins Tioman

8.20pm: BN triumphs in Tioman, according to unofficial results.

BN wins with about a 600-vote majority against PN.

Harapan, which dropped out of the race, bagged 791 votes.

Unofficial: PN leading in Padang Serai with 4,500 votes

8pm: PN is extending its lead in Padang Serai by 4,500 votes, according to unofficial results.

About 18,000 votes have been counted thus far.

Malaysiakini expects there to be around 90,000 votes in total, so there is still a distance to go before a winner can be declared.

PN leads in Padang Serai, close race in Tioman

7.50pm: Unofficial results place PN in the lead in Padang Serai by about 700 votes.

Over in Tioman, it's a close race between BN and PN as they near the finish line.

Unofficial results have BN in the lead with 7,222 votes, while PN has 6,564 votes.

Meanwhile, not all Harapan supporters appear to have gotten the memo to vote for BN, with 713 votes going to the Amanah candidate who had bowed out from the race.

So far so good in Padang Serai

6.50pm: All is well at the Harapan operations room in Padang Serai.

Party workers are having dinner while waiting for results to come in.

Their candidate, Mohamad Sofee Razak has not arrived, and there are no BN supporters or leaders in sight for now.

EC counting votes

6.30pm: Vote counting is still underway.

A Facebook live video by the EC shows counting taking place at an unspecified polling station - believed to be in Tioman.

The Star reports that eight out of 55 ballot boxes have been received at the Tioman tallying centre - with 730 votes for BN and 434 votes for PN.

Polling ends for Padang Serai, Tioman

6pm: Final turnout figure for the Padang Serai and Tioman elections is yet to be released.

However, as of 4pm, the Election Commission (EC) states that turnout was 63 percent in Padang Serai (up six percent from 3pm), and 54 percent in Tioman - which is four percent higher than the hour before.

Polling stations remain open until 6pm today.

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