Kelantan 14/07/2009: After a shocking roller coaster vote count, the Pakatan Rakyat managed to stave off its arch rival Umno-BN to retain the Manek Urai state seat in Kelantan. After a recount, PAS candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah beat Umno’s Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat by just 65 votes, far short of the minimum 1,700 predicted by election director Abdul Fatah Harun.
Until now, PAS supporters are in shock, wondering what had gone wrong. Pakatan officials had a tough time maintaining calm as they cried foul, “What happened to our votes?” A huge traffic jam had delayed the counting of votes by at least an hour. Nevertheless, PKR strategic affairs director Tian Chua expressed gratitude for the win, saying that whatever happened and no matter how close the shave, the victory showed Prime Minister Najib Razak was still unable to snap the Umno-BN losing streak, despite the deployment of huge resources.
“Historically, Kelantan PAS seldom wins by-elections. For Mohd Fauzi to win against a new guy, a flashy UTM graduate with all the support of the Umno stars like Muhyiddin, KJ, To’ Pa, is already remarkable. We must be grateful first and then investigate later if something went wrong between polling and counting of the votes,” he told Suara Keadilan.
“This is also something for him to take note of. If in the really rural Malay heartland, he can’t win a by-election, what hope does he have in the west coasts, mixed areas?” The by-election was marked by record turnout. According to the Election Commission, the rate was 87.33 percent by 5pm exceeding its 85 percent target.
Based on exit polls, PAS’ Abdul Fatah had predicted a Pakatan victory at 4pm, forecasting a majority of at least 1,700 to 2,000 votes, more than the 1,352 it won in 2008.
By then, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had already left town in a huff, reprimanding the EC for not taking sterner action against Pakatan supporters. The official vote tally: PAS – 5,348 votes, BN – 5,283, Total votes cast is 10,722).
Until now, PAS supporters are in shock, wondering what had gone wrong. Pakatan officials had a tough time maintaining calm as they cried foul, “What happened to our votes?” A huge traffic jam had delayed the counting of votes by at least an hour. Nevertheless, PKR strategic affairs director Tian Chua expressed gratitude for the win, saying that whatever happened and no matter how close the shave, the victory showed Prime Minister Najib Razak was still unable to snap the Umno-BN losing streak, despite the deployment of huge resources.
“Historically, Kelantan PAS seldom wins by-elections. For Mohd Fauzi to win against a new guy, a flashy UTM graduate with all the support of the Umno stars like Muhyiddin, KJ, To’ Pa, is already remarkable. We must be grateful first and then investigate later if something went wrong between polling and counting of the votes,” he told Suara Keadilan.
“This is also something for him to take note of. If in the really rural Malay heartland, he can’t win a by-election, what hope does he have in the west coasts, mixed areas?” The by-election was marked by record turnout. According to the Election Commission, the rate was 87.33 percent by 5pm exceeding its 85 percent target.
Based on exit polls, PAS’ Abdul Fatah had predicted a Pakatan victory at 4pm, forecasting a majority of at least 1,700 to 2,000 votes, more than the 1,352 it won in 2008.
By then, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had already left town in a huff, reprimanding the EC for not taking sterner action against Pakatan supporters. The official vote tally: PAS – 5,348 votes, BN – 5,283, Total votes cast is 10,722).
