KUALA LUMPUR: Political leaders on both sides of the divide descended
on the federal capital Thursday as suspense mounted over the selection
of candidates for the 13th general election, a day after the 12th
Parliament was dissolved.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
chaired back-to-back meetings of the Barisan Nasional and Umno supreme
councils at Menara Dato Onn to tie up the loose ends before the
coalition unveils its manifesto on Saturday night, with the Prime
Minister also promising to name the candidates well before nomination
day.
Momentum has shifted into top gear as the Election
Commission is poised to decide on the nomination and polling dates, with
much speculation that it would be all over by month's end.
Najib,
leading the coalition into the battle for the first time, said the
earlier than usual announcement of Barisan candidates would enable them
to be better prepared and start meeting voters earlier.
"Wait for
the announcement. I do not want to say anything now but there will be
changes. It's important to have an element of surprise," he told
reporters after the supreme council meetings.
Faced with a tough
fight to regain ground lost in the 2008 general election, Barisan has
indicated that up to 40 percent of its candidates would be new faces.
Najib all but confirmed that he would defend his bastion of Pekan when asked to comment on Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's decision to contest in Perak rather than defend his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.
"I
will never dream of leaving Pekan. I will live and die in Pekan
politically," said Najib, who in 1976 took over the task of tending to
Pekan, the birthplace and stronghold of his father, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who died during his tenure as the country's second prime minister.
The
Barisan manifesto, Najib said, would underscore the commitment of the
coalition to continue with the transformation of the country and the
national economy for the prosperity of the people.
Meanwhile, Anwar said his wife and PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail would stay out of the election despite earlier reports that she was eyeing a state seat in Selangor.
Anwar
told Al-Jazeera television Wednesday that she had decided not to
contest when he was asked on criticism over nepotism within PKR as he is
PKR advisor and their daughter Nurul Izzah is vice-president.
Wan
Azizah was not spotted when Anwar and fellow opposition leaders huddled
for three hours at the PKR headquarters just outside the city and
emerged with Anwar announcing that discussions on the seat allocation
would resume Friday afternoon.
PAS was represented by its spiritual leader and Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and DAP by secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is Penang Chief Minister.
"After
yesterday's dissolution, the ensuing 48 to 78 hours will be critical
for Barisan and the Opposition to finalise their lists of candidates.
From the look of things, there seems to be quite a few loose ends and
you can expect the haggling and last-minute swapping to continue till
nomination day," said a political pundit.
The upcoming battle
will see Barisan and the Opposition vying for 222 parliamentary seats
and 505 state seats in 12 states except Sarawak, which held its state
election in April 2011.
The Johor and Selangor state assemblies
were dissolved Thursday, leaving just three still outstanding - the
opposition-held states of Penang, Kelantan and Kedah.
Lim and Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak confirmed that their state assemblies would follow suit Friday, while
Nik Abdul Aziz is set to have an audience with Sultan Muhammad V of
Kelantan late Thursday.
Thursday, 4 April 2013
GE13: Suspense mounts over selection of candidates
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