Five-corner battle for Labuan parliamentary seat on the cards
By Jailani Hasan
LABUAN, April 24 (Bernama) -- The battle for the Labuan parliamentary seat is expected to see a five-corner fight involving the Barisan Nasional (BN), PAS, Warisan, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah and an independent.
Today's announcement in Kota Kinabalu by the Parti Harapan leadership on the parliamentary seats includes Labuan as among the 16 seats which the Sabah-based party is vying for in the 14th General Election (GE14) on May 9.
The names of the 16 candidates will however, be officially announced tomorrow.
Last week, PAS announced the name of its Labuan candidate. He is the party's state deputy head, Ahmad Junid Mohd Aling, who hails from Kota Belud, Sabah.
PKR has paved the way for Warisan to contest in Labuan, and the party is still scrutinising candidates for the battle in the duty-free-island. It is expected to announce its Labuan candidate this week.
An independent candidate is also believed to join in the queue, amidst the strength of the BN candidate.
One-term Datuk Rozman Isli has been re-nominated to defend the Labuan seat which the BN won in the GE13.
A political analyst, Dr Romzi Ationg said the election in Labuan would be 'merrier' as there was more opposition party involvement.
"However, the battle is expected to give the BN candidate an advantage as the opposition is seemingly not united," he said, adding that the move by the three opposition parties against the lone BN candidate was aimed at splitting the votes.
-- BERNAMA
