CHUKAI, Dec 2 — PAS retained the Kemaman seat when its candidate Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar won the by-election held for the parliamentary constituency today.
The Terengganu Menteri Besar won by a 37,220-vote majority, after securing 64,998 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional’s Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed, who obtained 27,778 votes.
The official result was announced by Returning Officer Ahmad Farhan Abdul Wahab at the vote-tallying centre at the Kemaman Municipal Council’s Dewan Berlian Utama here.
Ahmad Farhan said the voter turnout was 65.76 per cent.
In the 15th General Election (GE15), PAS, through its candidate Che Alias Hamid, won with a 27,179-vote majority, defeating three other candidates: Datuk Seri Ahmad Said (BN), Hasuni Sudin (Pakatan Harapan) and Rosli Ab Ghani (Parti Pejuang Tanah Air).
The by-election was held following the Terengganu Election Court’s decision on Sept 26 to nullify Che Alias’s victory in GE15.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Samsuri, when by met reporters, thanked all Kemaman voters and the PAS and Bersatu machinery that helped make the by-election campaign a success over the past two weeks.
He said the victory with a majority of over 37,000 votes surpassed the expectations of leaders from both parties although the voter turnout was less than the expected 72 per cent.
“My focus in Parliament, Insya-Allah will be on matters not only related to Kemaman but on Terengganu itself, on how we can contribute in various ways to Malaysia’s well-being,” he said.
Raja Mohamed Affandi, on the other hand, congratulated Ahmad Samsuri and PAS on their victory and thanked the 27,778 Kemaman voters as well as the entire UMNO, BN and Unity Government parties’ machinery that supported him.
“We can only put in the effort, and I leave the rest to Allah SWT,” he said in a statement.
