Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) Datuk Zaid Ibrahim will defend the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) P. Kamalanathan and two independents — V. Chandran and Johan Md Diah — in the April 25 by-election.Returning officer Nor Hisham Md Diah confirmed them after no objections were received when the objection period ended at 11am. A fifth hopeful, J. Anuradha, claimed the police and the Election Commission (EC) blocked her from contesting and has now offered her support to PR after opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim spoke to her.
The by-election is Selangor’s first but the country’s 10th since Election 2008.PR and BN supporters had crowded the nomination centre in Kuala Kubu Baru since morning to see candidates file their papers for the parliamentary seat that was left vacant on the death of PKR MP Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad, who won by a narrow 198 votes against four-term BN lawmaker Datuk G. Palanivel in 2008.
PKR, DAP and PAS make up the unofficial PR which won an unprecedented four more states and 82 federal seats in Election 2008, denying BN its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority. Zaid earlier arrived outside the nomination centre to join Anwar and Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who is the Hulu Selangor election director. He then entered the centre with his proposer and seconder when nominations opened at 9am.
Also with them were PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and other PR leaders.
Their supporters thronged outside the nomination centre and scuffled with police who had cordoned off the entire area. The PR supporters chanted “Reformasi” and “Hancur BN” to the tune of “When The Saints Go Marching In”, adding a festive air to the occasion.Zaid was the first to hand in his papers, at 9.06am, followed by Kamalanathan at 9.30am, Chandran four minutes later and Johan at 9.36am.
source:malaysiakini/malaysian insider
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