KULIM: Mohd Bakhri Hashim from Parti Warisan is still officially a candidate for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat despite the party's decision to withdraw from the race.
Election Commission (EC) returning officer (RO) Datuk Abdul Bari Abdullah said he was not informed of Warisan's decision over Bakhri's candidacy.
"To us, he is still officially a candidate for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat.
"The EC's election regulations clearly states that a candidate cannot withdraw his candidacy after his nomination has been officially approved," he told the New Straits Times.
Bari said the names of all six candidates announced during the nomination process would appear on the ballot paper.
"In fact, after the conclusion of the nomination process this morning, the EC had submitted the list to the printer.
"I suppose the ballot paper printing process will be done by this evening," he said.
Bari was responding to news reports over Warisan's decision to withdraw from contesting for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat.
Bernama reported Warisan secretary-general Datuk Loretto Padua Jr as saying the party had informed the EC over the decision.
However, he said Warisan's logo would remain on the ballot paper as the party had earlier filed its nomination for the polls on Nov 5.
Bakhri, who was not present at the nomination center today, could not be reached for comment.
The NST had quoted Bakhri as saying the status of his candidacy would be decided by the Sabah-based party leadership based on the outcome of the GE15 results on Saturday and the formation of the new federal government.
The Padang Serai polls will see a six-cornered battle between Bakhri and Mohamad Sofee Razak representing Pakatan Harapan; Datuk Sivarraajh Chandran (Barisan Nasional); Datuk Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional); Hamzah Abdul Rahman (Parti Pejuang Tanah Air); and Sreanandha Rao (Independent).
The Padang Serai parliamentary seat was previously held by M. Karupaiya when he secured a 8,813 majority win, beating MCA candidate Datuk Dr Leong Yong Kong and Mohammad Sobri Osman from Pas during GE14.
Karupaiya, 69, was nominated again by PH to defend the seat on nomination day.
However, he died on Nov 16, two days after being admitted to the Kulim Hospital due to a heart attack while campaigning.
Padang Serai has 133,767 eligible voters, with 81,230 of then voters in Lunas state constituency while the remaining 52,546 are voters in Merbau Pulas constituency.