No rejections: 239 candidates in total qualify for Johor election

JOHOR BARU – A total of 239 candidates are qualified to contest in the Johor state election.

Election Commission chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh said none of the nomination papers received during the nomination process was rejected.

“The 239 candidates comprise 202 men and 37 women,” he told a press conference at Persada Johor here after the conclusion of the nomination process.

There are 2.5 million registered voters eligible to cast their votes at the polls, which will involve 56 state seats.

Ghani said the oldest candidate is 71 years old, representing Perikatan Nasional (PN) in Bukit Permai, while two of the youngest candidates, aged 26, will be contesting in Mengkibol and Tangkak, representing Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pejuang, respectively.

There are eight candidates aged below 30 contesting in the state polls, while 52 candidates are in their 30s, 72 candidates in their 40s, 64 candidates in their 50s, and 43 others aged 60 and above.

BN and PN are fielding 56 candidates each, followed by Pakatan Harapan (30), Pejuang (42), PKR (20), independents (16), Muda (seven), Warisan (six), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (four), Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (one), and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (one).

The campaign period for the state polls starts right after nomination until 11.59pm on March 11.

Meanwhile, EC in a statement also said that it had set up 56 election campaign enforcement teams to monitor the activities of candidates during the campaign period.

It said the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the state election had been approved and will be strictly implemented during the entire process.

Details on the SOPs are available at the EC portal. – Bernama, February 26, 2022