Court rejects Abdul Hadi’s preliminary objection to Marang election petition

KUALA TERENGGANU (Feb 12): The Election Court here on Sunday (Feb 12) dismissed a preliminary objection by Marang Member of Parliament Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang to the election petition filed by Jasmira Othman to annul the result of the Marang parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15).

Judge Datuk Hassan Abdul Ghani made the decision in proceedings conducted online.

Lawyer Wan Rohimi Wan Daud represented Abdul Hadi, while lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun acted on behalf of Jasmira, who was the Barisan Nasional candidate for Marang.

Hassan also ordered Abdul Hadi to pay costs of RM20,000 to Jasmira and fixed March 6 to hear the election petition.

On Jan 3, Terengganu Umno filed a petition to annul the GE15 results for the Marang parliamentary seat at the Kuala Terengganu High Court, in accordance with the Election Offenses Act 1954.

Terengganu Umno chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said said among the points raised in the petition were allegations that PAS had bribed voters by distributing financial aid from the state government through the i-Pension, i-Belia and i-Student initiatives between Nov 15 and 17, 2022, which was just a few days before GE15.

In GE15, Abdul Hadi retained the Marang seat with a majority of 41,729 votes, defeating three other candidates, namely Jasmira, Azhar Ab Shukur (Pakatan Harapan) and Dr Zarawi Sulong (Pejuang).