Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Permatang Pasir

PAS retains Permatang Pasir
Malaysiakini teamAug 25, 09 6:34pm

PAS has won the Permatang Pasir state seat by-election in Penang today with a majority of 4,551 votes. The majority however had decreased by nearly 900 votes since the last general election which saw the party winning by 5,433 votes.The Election Commission announced that PAS candidate 55-year-old candidate Mohd Salleh polled 9,618 votes while BN's Mohd Rohaizat Othman, 38, garnered 5,067.

Voter turnout had also decreased this time around to 73 percent which the Election Commission chief Abdul Aziz Yusof blamed on the A(H1N1) outbreak.

In the previous election, the turnout was 82.6 percent. The result of the by-election was announced by Returning Officer Roslan Yahaya at 7.25pm at the Dewan Perdana of the National Youth Skills Institute in Bukit Mertajam.'Thank you all'

Supporters of Mohd Salleh in the hall applauded soon after the result was announced. Among the leaders present at the Dewan Perdana were the PAS election director Mahfuz Omar and Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman.After the result was announced, Mohd Salleh alighted from the stage and had dates for the breaking of the fast. The BN candidate was not seen in the hall. With this victory, Pakatan Rakyat has taken seven with BN only emerging victorious in Sarawak's Batang Ai contest.
Voting trend has not changed