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Ballot boxes to be used in Malaysia 2008 elections |
A total of 222 nomination centres throughout Malaysia opened at 9am to accept nomination papers from candidates vying for 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats in the March 8 general election.
The nomination process begins with the submission of nomination papers from 9am until 10am, followed by an hour of objection period before returning officers announce the candidates for the respective constituencies.
A seat would be won uncontested if only one nomination paper was accepted by the returning officer after the objection period.
Candidates accompanied by their supporters have to turn at the nomination centres in district offices, schools and local authority offices, some did so as early as 8am.
The general election is held following the dissolution of Parliament and state legislative assemblies nationwide on Feb 13, except for Sarawak state assembly as its five-year mandate expires only in 2011.
A candidate is required to pay a deposit of RM10,000 to contest a parliamentary seat and RM5,000 for a state seat upon the filing of their nomination papers.
The general election this time around will see for the first time the enforcement of stamp duty requirement for the candidates' statutory declaration although such a requirement has been stated in the law for decades.
At total of 10,922,139 electorates, including 221,085 postal voters, are eligible to vote for their representatives from the various political parties that will later form the federal and state governments.
There are about 600,000 new voters in this general election compared to 10.3 million voters in the last general election in 2004.
A total of 30 political parties are eligible to contest in the general election.
The Barisan Nasional coaltion controlled the Parliament with 199 seats against the opposition DAP (12 seats), PAS (seven seats) and Independent (one seat).
The Parliament had 219 seats prior to its dissolution.
There are three new parliamentary seats in this general election -- namely Igan, Sibuti and Limbang, all in Sarawak -- following the redelinenation of the state's electoral boundaries.
The Election Commission has set 13 days for campaigning, begining February 24 right after the nomination process until 12 midnight on March 7. - Ber/SF
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