A by-election was held for the Sarawak State Assembly seat of Balingian on 29 March 2014 following the nomination day on 17 March 2014.[1] The incumbent assemblyman and former 33-year Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud resigned from his post on 28 February 2014.[2] The seat was declared vacant after he took his seat as the new Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak, succeeding Abang Muhammad Salahuddin whose term ended on 28 February.[3] Taib was an assemblyman from the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, a component party of Barisan Nasional. The former chairman of the party, he won by a majority of 5,154 votes against 2 other candidates in the 2011 election.[4]

The election saw a straight fight between Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional. Yussibnosh Balo represented Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu while Abdul Jalil Bujang represented Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a component party of Pakatan Rakyat.[5][6] The by-election campaign was marred by allegations that Chief Minister Adenan Satem abused his power when 4 PKR leaders were barred from entering Sarawak during the campaign period.[7]

Yussibnosh Balo retained the very safe BN seat by a majority of 6,911 votes.[8][9]

Results

Sarawak state by-election, 29 March 2014: Balingian
Upon the resignation of incumbent, Abdul Taib Mahmud
Party Candidate Votes % ∆%
BN Yussibnosh Balo 8,194 86.46 + 10.14
PKR Abdul Jail Bujang 1,283 13.54 + 2.84
Total valid votes 9,477 100.00
Total rejected ballots 146
Unreturned ballots 1
Turnout 9,624 72.00
Registered electors 13,366
Majority 6,911
BN hold Swing (({2))}
Source(s)

"Pilihan Raya Kecil N.51 Balingian". Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2018-09-19.

"Federal Government Gazette - Notice of Contested Election - By-election of the State Legislative Assembly of N.51 Balingian for the State of Sarawak [P.U. (B) 91/2014]" (PDF). Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 2018-09-19.[permanent dead link]

"Federal Government Gazette - Results of Contested Election and Statement of the Poll after the Official Addition of Votes for the By-election of N.51 Balingian [P.U. (B) 114/2014]" (PDF). Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 2018-09-19.[permanent dead link]

References

  1. ^ "Balingian by-election on March 29, says Election Commission". The Malaysian Insider. 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-06.
  2. ^ "Taib Mahmud: From Sarawak chief minister to governor". The Straits Times. 2 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Taib is Sarawak's new governor". The Star. 1 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Guan Eng: Pakatan sending strong message to Taib". Free Malaysia Today. 16 April 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Straight fight in Balingian". Free Malaysia Today. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
  6. ^ "PKR fields Muslim missionary for Balingian by-election". The Malaysian Insider. 16 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-20.
  7. ^ "Now PKR Wanita chief denied entry into Sarawak". The Malaysian Insider. 27 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-29.
  8. ^ "Barisan retains Balingian seat". The Star. 29 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Barisan retains Balingian with bigger majority – Bernama". The Malaysian Insider. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-29.
Categories