GEDONG: The Gedong state seat is set to see a four-cornered fight in the upcoming 12th Sarawak election.
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman and caretaker chief minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg will face Mohamad Sofian Fariz Sharbini from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Kamal Bujang from Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and Tomson Ango from Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK).
Election Commission (EC) returning officer Abdul Khalid Manap, made the announcement at 10.20am today after the nomination process ended at Dewan Masyarakat Gedong.
"None of the forms submitted by the four candidates were rejected," he said.
This is the first time Abang Johari is contesting in the Gedong state seat, after moving from the Satok state seat which he won for eight consecutive terms.
He was given the go-ahead by Datuk Naroden Majais, who had offered to make way for Abang Johari to stand in the rural seat.
During the 11th Sarawak State Election in 2016, Naroden won the seat with a majority of 3,365 votes defeating Amanah candidate Rapelson Richard and Independent, Uja Bansi.
Gedong is a rural seat located about 90km from Kuching with a journey that takes an hour and 30 minutes.
A total 62 percent of Gedong voters are Malay/Melanau, while another 37 percent are non-Muslim Bumiputeras and the remaining one percent are Chinese voters.
On Nov 3, the Sarawak state assembly dissolved automatically, making way for a state election to be held within 60 days.
The dissolution was in compliance with Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah's consent to revoke the Proclamation of Emergency for Sarawak on the same date.
The state polls will be on Dec 18 and early voting is on Dec 14.