PADANG BESAR: Former two-term Padang Besar member of parliament Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin will be facing Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Zahida Zarikh Khan and three others in his battle to defend the seat in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Zahidi, 61, who was dropped as a BN candidate, decided to stand as an independent candidate.
The former communications and multimedia deputy minister will be going against Zahida, who is still observing confinement following the demise of her husband in August. The national Umno Puteri wing chief was present at the MSRM Beseri nomination centre to file her nomination.
The other candidates are Muhammad Saad @ Yahya (Pakatan Harapan); Rusydan Rusmi (Perikatan Nasional) and Ko Chu Liang (Parti Warisan Malaysia).
In the previous general election, Zahidi retained the seat after defeating PH's Izizam Ibrahim and Pas candidate Mokhtar Senik with a 1,438-vote majority.
The list of candidates was announced by Election Commission (EC) returning officer Naharudeen Othman at the MSRM Beseri nomination centre about 12.20pm.
Besides defending the Padang Besar seat, Zahidi is also contesting for the Titi Tinggi state seat in the GE15, in a crowded six-cornered battle.
BN's Teh Chai Ann, who is defending the seat, will also be challenged by Teh Seng Chuan (PH); Izizam Ibrahim (PN), Khaw Hock Kong (Parti Warisan) and Mohd Shahril Md Sarif (Pejuang).
In GE14 held in May 2018, Teh won the seat with a razor thin majority of 142 votes in a four-cornered battle against candidates from PH, BN and an independent.
Titi Tinggi is one of the five state seats under the Padang Besar constituency. The other four seats are Beseri, Chuping, Mata Ayer and Santan.