JOHOR BARU: Both the by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary constituency and the Simpang Jeram state seat will feature a three-cornered contest on Sept 9.
In addition to the contenders put forth by Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), two independent candidates have also joined the electoral fray.
The returning officer of the Election Commission (EC) announced the approval of nomination documents for the Pulai seat at the Dewan Jubli Intan nomination centre.
The accepted candidates were Suhaizan Kaiat from PH, Zulkifli Jaafar from PN, and the independent candidate Samsudin Fauzi.
As for Simpang Jeram, PH candidate Nazri Abdul Rahman, PN's Dr Mazri Yahya and independent S. Jeganathan have submitted their nomination papers.
The vacancies in both seats emerged after the passing of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub on July 23.
In the 15th general election (GE15), Salahuddin secured victory in the Pulai constituency with a significant margin of 33,174 votes, surpassing his opponents Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed from Barisan Nasional and Loh Kah Yong from PN.
During the Johor state elections in 2022, he won in Simpang Jeram constituency with a lead of 2,399 votes, competing in a four-way contest against Zahrul Salleh from PN, Lokman Don from BN, and Mahaizal Mahmor from Pejuang.
The EC reported that there are 166,653 eligible voters in Pulai and 40,379 voters in Simpang Jeram.
Its chairman Abdul Ghani said the EC has set the polling day on Sept 9, with early voting on Sept 5.
He reiterated that candidates who have submitted the campaign deposit according to the Election Offences Act 1954 are bound by the regulations set by local authorities.
These candidates, he said are obliged to secure permits from local authorities' by-laws in order to publicly display and distribute their campaign materials.
"Any expressions of ill-will, hostility, or content containing racial elements, as well as the sensitive 3R topics - race, religion, and royalty - under the provisions of the Election Offences Act 1954 (Act 5), will not be deemed acceptable and will not be tolerated," he said.