EC denies ordering removal of BN campaign material

SHAH ALAM: The Election Commission (EC) today denied a BN allegation that it had ordered the removal of the party's campaign material in the Sungai Kandis state constituency where a by-election is due on Saturday.
EC deputy chairman Tan Sri Othman Mahmood said the election campaign enforcement team had not removed any campaign material of the party as alleged by the BN candidate, Datuk Lokman Noor Adam.
"In fact, an agent of the (BN) candidate is in the team that was set up by the EC," he said in a statement here.
Lokman had questioned what he alleged was an EC directive to remove the party's campaign posters immediately.
He reportedly alleged that he received the EC directive this morning and that the reason was that the contents of the posters were a cause of "uneasiness" to some people.
The Sungai Kandis by-election is the first after the 14th General Election in May. It is being held following the death from cancer of the assemblyman, Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei of PKR, on July 2.
The by-election is a three-cornered contest among Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni of PKR, Lokman and independent candidate K. Murthy.
Mat Shuhaimi retained the seat (formerly known as Sri Muda) for the third term by securing a majority of 12,480 votes to beat his challengers from BN, PAS and PRM in the general election.
Based on the electoral rolls as of the first quarter of 2018, the Sungai Kandis constituency has 51,230 registered voters comprising 51,217 ordinary voters and 13 absentee voters. — Bernama