Liawan and Bingkor state seats in Sabah witness 10-cornered clashes as GRS incumbents face multiple challengers in fiercely contested elections.
KENINGAU: The Keningau parliamentary constituency’s three state seats are witnessing intense multi-cornered contests in Sabah’s 17th state election.
Liawan recorded 10 candidates, making it one of the election’s key battlegrounds.
Incumbent Datuk Annuar Ayub Aman of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah faces nine challengers including Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Nik Mohd Nadzri Nik Zawawi.
Parti Warisan’s Adzhar Jasni @ Eddy and Perikatan Nasional’s Johny @ John Anthony are also contesting the Liawan seat.
Peter Paun of Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat completes the list of prominent challengers.
Bingkor is equally competitive with another 10-cornered fight for the state seat.
GRS candidate Rafie Robert seeks to defend the seat previously held by his father Datuk Robert Tawik.
Rafie faces challenges from Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku’s Datuk Mohd Ishak Ayub and Warisan’s Benedict Martin Gunir.
Niklos Ongoh of KDM is also among the candidates contesting the Bingkor seat.
Tambunan features a seven-cornered contest with STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan seeking re-election.
The Keningau Member of Parliament faces GRS candidate Datuk Victor P. Paut and Warisan’s Bianus Kontong.
Dionysia Ginsos of Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri and KDM’s Jaikol Tagua complete the Tambunan candidate list.
Returning Officer Peter Jonu @ Peter Jonu Moinjil confirmed no nomination papers were rejected during the morning process.
Voting for the 73 state seats will occur on November 29 with early voting scheduled for November 25.
Election Commission statistics show 1,784,843 registered voters eligible to participate in the state polls.
This includes 1,760,417 ordinary voters and 24,426 military and police personnel with their spouses. – Bernama
