IPOH: DAP will unveil its candidate for the upcoming Cameron Highlands by-election in 10 days time.
DAP vice-chairman, M. Kulasegaran, said the announcement will be made by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
He said the selection of the candidate is the prerogative of Lim, but an announcement on the candidate will only be made after discussions with all relevant parties.
The candidate, he said, will likely join the DAP senior adviser Lim Kit Siang and the party’s senior leadership when they visit Cameron Highlands on Sunday as part of their preparations for the by-election.
“Lim Kit Siang and I will be in Ringlet, which was the first area we visited after the 14th general election.
“We aim to meet the locals, and also visit the Orang Asli community,” he said. He expressed hope that the local community would give its support to Pakatan Harapan (PH) and enable them to capture the seat.
“This seat is traditionally DAP’s and this was decided upon by the PH presidential council.
“Although we won’t be naming our candidate yet, the candidate may be among those at the visit tomorrow,” he said.
In the 14th general election, the seat was won by Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk C. Sivarraajh.
However, a by-election was called following a decision on Nov 30 by the Election Court to nullify Sivarraajh’s win. The court had ruled that during the election, there were elements of bribery involved in a bid to sway voters in the area.
The EC subsequently banned Sivarraajh, who is MIC vice-president, from contesting or voting in any election for the next five years.
BN has yet to name its candidate for the by-election.