Kajang by-election set for March 23

(MM) – The Election Commission (EC) has set March 23 as the date for the Kajang by-election, the country’s third since the May 5 federal polls last year.

Nomination for the by-election will be on March 11, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof announced today, while early voting has been set for March 19.

This will give all parties a 12-day period to campaign for votes.

Abdul Aziz, who was speaking at a press conference here, said the estimated cost for the by-election is RM1.6 million.

He added that as at January 26, the semi-urban state seat in Selangor has a total of 39,278 registered voters.

To date, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and Barisan Nasional’s Malaysian Indian United Party president Senator Datuk K. S. Nallakaruppan have expressed interest in contesting the state seat.

Meanwhile, MCA, as well as newcomer, the New Generation Party, have announced that they will field their respective candidates.

In a surprise move last week, PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh resigned as Kajang assemblyman, presumably to pave way for Anwar to contest the by-election.

The unforced resignation fuelled rumours that it was to allow Anwar to join the state assembly for the purpose of removing Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim from his post.

Lee won the Kajang state seat in Election 2013 with a 6,824-vote majority in the constituency that is 48 per cent Malay, 41 per cent Chinese and 10 per cent Indian.