KOTA BAHARU, March 10- The one-hour period for nominations in the Chempaka state by-election closed at 10 am Tuesday. The nominations were accepted at the nomination centre at the Dewan Bitara of the Mara Junior Science College here. Five people, one of them from PAS, were seen entering the nomination centre to submit their nomination papers.
Returning officer Ibrahim Bakri Mat Deris is expected to announce the candidates for the by-election, polling for which is on March 22. The Barisan Nasional (BN) is not contesting the by-election, saying it was focusing on relief work following the massive floods that hit Kelantan recently.
The by-election has been necessitated by the death of the assemblyman, PAS spiritual leader and former Kelantan menteri besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat on Feb 12 at the age of 84. The Chempaka constituency has 21,890 registered voters, comprising 20,390 ordinary voters, 1,497 early voters and three absentee voters.
