2013 Kuala Besut by-election

A by-election was held for the Terengganu State Assembly seat of Kuala Besut on 24 July 2013 with nomination day on 12 July 2013. The seat of Kuala Besut fell vacant after the death of incumbent assemblyman, A. Rahman Mokhtar on 26 June 2013 from lung cancer.[1] Dr. Mokhtar was an assemblyman from the United Malays National Organisation, a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which holds a 1-seat majority into the by-election. The by-election was contested by Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman from UMNO and Azlan Yusof, who hails from the Pakatan Rakyat component Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.[2]

This by-election is viewed as critical by both the government and opposition. A win by Pakatan Rakyat would have resulted in a hung parliament with both coalition holding 16 seats, and potentially a fresh state election.[3][4]

The by-election was won by BN's Tengku Zaihan with a slightly increased majority, thus keeping the government's wafer-thin 2-seat majority.[5] Turnout in this by-election dropped by 7% compared to the turnout during the general election two months before.

Results

Terengganu state by-election, 24 July 2013: Kuala Besut
The by-election was called due to the death of incumbent, Abdul Rahman Mokhtar.

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	BN	Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman	8,288	59.27
	PAS	Azlan Yusof	5,696	40.73
Total valid votes			13,984	100.00
Total rejected ballots			125
Unreturned ballots			0
Turnout			14,109	79.79
Registered electors			17,683
Majority			2,592
	BN hold		Swing
Source(s) "Pilihan Raya Kecil N.01 Kuala Besut". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 2018-09-19. "Federal Government Gazette - Notice of Contested Election - By-election of the State Legislative Assembly of N.01 Kuala Besut for the State of Terengganu [P.U. (B) 290/2013]" (PDF). Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 2018-09-19. "Federal Government Gazette - Results of Contested Election and Statement of the Poll after the Official Addition of Votes for the By-election of N.01 Kuala Besut [P.U. (B) 325/2013]" (PDF). Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 2018-09-19.

References

1. "Umno's Kuala Besut state rep dies". Free Malaysia Today. 26 June 2013. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013.
2. "In Kuala Besut, PAS, Umno settle on new faces". The Malaysian Insider. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
3. "Odd numbers and hung assemblies". The Sun. 1 July 2013.
4. "Impact of Kuala Besut by-election". New Straits Times. 11 July 2013.
5. "Kuala Besut defeat an opportunity for PAS to take stock". The Malaysian Insider. 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.