It will be a three-cornered fight for the Kuala Terengganu by-election on Jan 17.
As expected the two main candidates - Barisan Nasional's Wan Ahmad Farid and PAS' Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut - were among the earliest to submit their candidacy. Joining them would be independent candidate Azharudin Mamat @ Adam.
Nominations for the polls - held at the Stadium Negeri in Jalan Sultan Mahmud - closed at 10am.
Wan Ahmad was the first to enter the nomination centre just as soon as it was opened at 9am. He was followed by Mohd Abdul Wahid at about 9.10am.
Businessman Azharudin was the third candidate, filing in his nomination just in time. The independent candidate managed to submit his forms at about 9.58am.
He had arrived early at the nomination centre but had some problems with his forms which he had to correct.
Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia vice-president Harun Mohamad - who had previously said that he would also be contesting - decided at the last minute not to pursue with his candidacy.
He did enter the nomination centre at about 9.20am but soon came out and announced that he was withdrawing from contesting in the by-election. He added that his party's aims were the same as PAS' and would therefore back the Islamic party in the by-election.
At the end of the objection period from 10am to 11am, there were four objections filed.
However at about 11.30am returning officer Mat Razali Kassim said that the four objections were not accepted and confirmed the three-cornered fight.
The by-election, to be held after 11 days of campaigning, is held following the sudden death of incumbent BN representative Razali Ismail on Nov 28.
There are a total of 80,229 voters in this constituency.
Big crowd at nomination centre
And as usual, a big crowd accompanied both Wan Ahmad and Mohd Abdul Wahid while they made their way to the nomination centre.
The police had earlier said that they were on standby in case of any crowd trouble.
For Mohd Abdul Wahid, thousands of his supporters had gathered near Wisma Persekutuan in Kuala Terengganu, some two kilometers away from the nomination centre since 8am.
At about 8.55am, Mohd Abdul Wahid led a procession from there to the nomination centre after conducting prayers at a mosque.
He was accompanied by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, Perak Mentri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, PKR deputy leader Syed Husin Ali and DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke.
As for Wan Ahmad, he was accompanied by BN supporters, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said, MCA president Ong Tee Keat, Gerakan chief Dr Koh Tsu Koon, MIC leader S Subramaniam and other top ruling coalition leaders.
Meanwhile, a news media reported that the police estimated 20,000 PAS supporters and 4,000 BN supporters have gathered for the nomination.
However, The Star reported there were 30,000 BN supporters and 15,000 PAS supporters - malaysiakini.com
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