2014 Balingian by-election

2014 Balingian by-election

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Balingian seat in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
BN PKR Candidate Yussibnosh Balo Abdul Jalil Bujang Party BN (PBB) PKR Alliance PR Popular vote 8,194 1,283 Percentage 86.46% 13.54%
Batang Air assemblyman before election Abdul Taib Mahmud BN (PBB) Elected Batang Air assemblyman Yussibnosh Balo BN (PBB)

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.