Sungai Kandis By-Election

Thank you for following our live coverage

10.30pm - This is the final entry for our live Sungai Kandis by-election coverage blog. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news and views that matter. 

Low turnout: What Harapan leaders say

10.20pm - Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari believes that the lower turnout due to the by-election being too close to the May 9 elections.

"There is less urgency because voters are not out to topple a government," said Amirudin. 

Amanah president and Kota Raja MP Mohamad Sabu said the  turnout was less what he expected.

"We are surprised that it is below 50 percent. Maybe it is because voters have seen what the state government is like and the pressure on them to vote is less. 

"However, the voting trend appears to remain the same," he said. 

QUICK ANALYSIS: PAS supporters split

10pm - BN will likely claim a moral victory despite its defeat in the Sungai Kandis by-election by pointing to PKR's reduced majority.

PKR won with a 5,842-vote-majority compared to the 12,480-vote majority in the last general election.

However, the majority is not a reliable yardstick due to the abysmal turnout.

The turnout for Sungai Kandis in the 14th general election was estimated to be at 85.8 percent.

The turnout in this by-election, according to the Election Commission, was at 49.4 percent - the lowest in recent memory.

PKR's vote share improved from 55.6 percent in GE14 to 61.4 percent in this by-election, an increment of 5.8 percent.

However, BN's vote share also improved from 26.7 percent in GE14 to 38.2 percent in this by-election, an increase of 11.5 percent.

This was likely due to a split in PAS supporters. PAS' vote share stood at 17.5 percent in the last general election.

The data suggest that PAS decision to explicitly order its supporters to not vote for PKR may have benefitted BN.

However, it also suggested that PAS was unable to order all its supporters to back the BN candidate.

Assuming that a proportional number of those who voted for PAS in May 9 voted this time round, a cursory look at the voting district data would suggest that a third voted for PKR while the rest voted for BN.

It is also possible that many of those who backed PAS the last time round simply chose not to vote at all. 

This scenario made the Sungai Kandis by-election an uphill task for BN from the onset as even if all of BN and PAS votes were combined in the 14th general election, PKR would have still won.

Furthermore, it appeared that even PKR and BN supporters did not turn up, contributing to the historic low turnout.

Both sides have given various reasons for this, which includes election fatigue and the fact that the by-election would have little impact on the balance of power.

OFFICIAL: EC announces PKR's victory

9.30pm - The Election Commission has formally announced PKR's victory in the Sungai Kandis by-election.

PKR's Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni secured 61.7 percent of the votes cast and has a 5,842-vote majority against BN's Lokman Noor Adam.

According to the final results, PKR garnered 15,427 votes to BN's 9,585 votes. 

Meanwhile, the independent candidate K Murthy received 97 votes.

The EC also revealed that there were 173 spoilt votes.

It said the official turnout was at 49.4 percent.

KJ disagrees with Umno-PAS tie-up

9.20pm - Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin has supported calls for Umno to not cooperate with PAS, especially in the upcoming Seri Setia by-election.

"Should be the way. This tactical alliance is not the way to go," he tweeted in response to a social media user who said Umno should not let PAS contest in Seri Setia.

The social media user named Allif, also said that Umno should ban controversial figures from campaigning in Seri Setia.

Zawawi in a jubilant mood

9.15pm - Ahead of the Election Commission's official announcement of his victory, PKR candidate Zawawi Ahmad Mughni arrives at the counting centre and receives congratulatory handshakes from his supporters.

Seen in the hall is Amanah president Mohamad Sabu. Selangor Menteri Besar Amiruddin Shaari is expected to arrive soon.

The Election Commission will also be holding a press conference after the official announcement has been made.

Outside the hall, more PKR and Harapan supporters eagerly await the news.

At a glance: BN flips three polling district, loses one

9.15pm - Preliminary data shows that BN wrested three polling districts from PKR while PKR took one from BN.

In total, there are 19 polling districts in the Sungai Kandis state constituency.

The polling districts which BN captured from PKR are Johan Setia, Seri Gambut and Kampung Bukit Naga.

According to the by-election's unofficial data, BN won Johan Setia with 1,190 votes to PKR's 1,158 votes, Seri Gambut with 420 votes to PKR's 318 votes and Kampung Bukit Naga with 496 votes to PKR's 426 votes.

All three have a substantial number of voters who backed the PAS candidate during the May 9 polls and were won by PKR with slim margins at the time.

During the 14th general election, PKR won Johan Setia with 1,467 votes to BN's 1,375 votes, Seri Gambut with 419 votes to BN's 410 votes and Kampung Bukit Naga with 540 votes to BN's 493 votes.

PAS secured 884, 236 and 303 votes respectively in the above polling districts in GE14.

As for Sungai Kandis - the polling district, not the state constituency - which PKR wrested from BN in this by-election, it was won with 668 votes to the opposition's 634 votes.

In the 14th general election, BN won the Sungai Kandis polling district with 687 votes, while PKR received 615 votes and PAS received 481 votes.

The Sungai Kandis polling district was one of two polling districts BN won in the last general election. It retained the Kampung Pandan polling district in this by-election.

In this by-election, it won four of the 19 polling districts, albeit marginally.

Why the lower turnout?

8.30PM - The turnout looks set to be slightly below 51 percent, down from 85.8 percent on May 9. 

Interestingly, a survey by Selangor government think tank Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) in early July indicated that 80 percent of respondents were "excited to vote".

UNOFFICIAL: PKR retains Sungai Kandis

8.05pm - Malaysiakini is calling the Sungai Kandis by-election for PKR as the party has crossed the threshold that makes it impossible for BN to catch up.

At the time of writing, the unofficial tally for PKR is 12,984 votes to BN's 7,774 votes while the independent candidate received 87 votes.

An estimated 25,765 out of the 51,217 eligible voters voted in this by-election.

This leaves only 4,920 more ballots uncounted. Even if BN wins all of them, it is impossible to win the by-election.

Record low turnout

8pm - The turnout for the Sungai Kandis by-election is estimated at 50.31 percent, one of the lowest for a by-election in Malaysian history.

Kosmo, quoting an Election Commission source, said only 25,765 out of the 51,217 eligible voters had cast their votes when polls closed.

"The number of voters who came out was very low compared to previous by-elections. We don't know why," the source was quoted as saying.

BN makes some gains

7.35pm - BN has wrested the Malay-majority polling district of Seri Gambut from PKR.

BN won the polling district with 420 votes to PKR's 318 votes while the independent candidate received none.

This puts PKR's share of votes for this polling district at 43 percent, while BN is 57 percent.

During the May 9 elections, PKR won the polling district by a razor-thin nine votes when it garnered 419 votes and BN's 410 votes while PAS garnered 236 votes.

At the time, PKR's share of votes was 39.30 percent.

Preliminary analysis showed both BN and PKR vote of shares increased but BN's increased at a higher rate.

This could be due to more PAS supporters shifting to BN than PKR.

However, this is a relatively small polling district that is unlikely to reflect the larger voting trend.

Umno No 2 still optimistic 

7.15pm - Over at the BN operations base, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan believes it is still too early to call a winner.

“We don't know the results yet," he said. 

He believes that the Election Commission had increased the number of saluran (voting streams) for the Bukit Jati voting district to ease congestion. 

"It makes it easier for voters as it cuts down the length of the queue... Good decision," he said. 

Festive mood at PKR base

7pm - Outside the PKR command centre, supporters gather to view a screen set up to display the unofficial live results from various polling districts.

Kajang assemblyperson Hee Loy Sian joins the crowd. 

"One of the factors for a low turnout today was that one party had 'boycotted' the polls.

"I received information their local members were unhappy with the plan to cooperate with Umno," he tells Malaysiakini.

From a room inside the command centre, Port Klang assemblyperson Azmizam Zaman Huri announces the results as it comes in. Seen in the room is Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.

"Clap harder please," Azmizam quips. 

"Andalas sapu bersih!" says one supporter as others cheers.

PKR candidate Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni is seen taking a quick break before he joins the supporters outside.

PKR pulls ahead in early count

6.30pm - PKR has an early lead as counting gets underway.

At present, PKR has 1,776 votes to BN's 556 votes, while the independent candidate has 26 votes.

PKR's lead is unsurprising as the data coming in, for now, are from PKR strongholds.

For these polling districts, it appears that the party's supporters in the 14th general election remain loyal.

However, the low turnout may reduce their majority.

New record likely

6pm - The turnout today is expected to be among the lowest since 2004.

The last time Malaysia had a by-election was in 2016. 

They were for the parliamentary seats of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, which saw a turnout of 74.29 percent and 71.3 percent respectively.

Other recent by-elections which did not see BN contesting saw lower turnout.

For example, the Bukit Gelugor by-election in 2014, which saw BN sit out, saw a 56.27 percent turnout.

During the 2015 Chempaka by-election, the turnout was around 55 percent. The by-election saw a contest between PAS and four independent candidates.

Low turnout expected

5.30pm - Polling for the Sungai Kandis by-election has officially closed.

At 4pm, prior to polls closing, the preliminary turnout was at 45 percent.

Malaysiakini estimates the final turnout will likely be slightly above 50 percent.

This is in contrast to the estimated 85.8 percent turnout for the constituency during the 14th general election.

The turnout for by-elections is traditionally lower than a general election.