Seat talks: More than 20pct allocated to BN - Amirudin

The seat distribution between Pakatan Harapan and BN for the upcoming state elections has been completed, with BN allocated more than 20 percent of the 56 seats contested, said Selangor Harapan chairperson Amirudin Shari.

Amirudin, also the Selangor menteri besar, said Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim and BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi agreed upon the seat distribution.

“Therefore, Harapan candidates will contest the remaining seats, which will be decided after taking into account the seats held by the party before the dissolution of the state assembly.

“The current political situation, latest strength between parties in the unity government coalition as well as the accessibility to combine the strengths of both parties are among the factors in determining the seat distribution,” he said.

Considering all these factors, Amirudin (above) said the distribution was well-received by both parties.

Previously, BN was reportedly aiming to contest at least 14 seats in the polls, considering Harapan's position, which won 16 of the 22 parliamentary seats in Selangor in the 15th general election in November last year.

In the GE14 in 2018, BN won four state seats, namely Sungai Air Tawar, Sungai Burong, Sungai Panjang and Hulu Bernam, before wresting the Semenyih seat from Harapan in the 2019 by-election.

On the candidates to be fielded by Harapan, Amirudin said the list is still being studied and needs further discussions at the state level before the candidates with the winning criteria are finalised.

He also assured that Harapan will introduce several new faces, including representatives of women, youth, politicians and professionals, in addition to retaining the incumbents.

“We will try to balance between candidates who have long contributed to the constituency or locality they represent and also, at the same time, introduce new faces for the continuity of the Harapan administration in Selangor,” he said.

Selangor has 3,747,057 voters and will hold polls simultaneously with five other states, namely Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang and Negeri Sembilan, on Aug 12.

In GE14, Selangor Harapan secured 51 seats, followed by BN and PAS with four and one seat, respectively.

The composition of the state assembly before the dissolution of the state assembly sees Harapan holding 40 seats (PKR-19, DAP-15, Amanah-six), BN (five), Bersatu (four), and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (two).

At the same time, PAS, Pejuang, and Warisan have one each, along with one Independent representative.

However, another seat in Batang Kali was declared vacant after the elected representative failed to attend the assembly for over six months.

- Bernama

Emulate Muda, give women 50pct of seats to contest - party leader..

Survey indicates growing support for coalition govt in Kedah - Rafizi

State polls: DAP to defend all seats in six states - Loke

State polls: Kelantan PKR to contest 7 seats

S'gor Harapan banking on state govt's track record to win over voters

K’tan DAP to assist Harapan-BN candidates in 9 constituencies

Selangor polls: Amanah to contest eight seats