SHAH ALAM, Sept 26- Twenty-six Selangor Umno candidates have withdrawn their candidacy in the state-level Umno’s polls next month.
Selangor Umno election committee executive secretary 1 Mohamad Isa Ishak said they included candidates for division head, division vice head, executive committee, Puteri Umno posts and permanent chairmen.
“As for the rest, they will be vetted by Umno headquarters as to whether they qualify to contest,” he said when contacted by Bernama here Wednesday.
On Saturday, 3,964 candidates were reported to have submitted their nomination forms to contest for various posts in the 22 divisions in Selangor.
In KANGAR, Perlis Umno elections committee chairman Datuk Abdul Azib Saad said 14 candidates had submitted letters of withdrawal, one withdrawing from contesting a division chief post.
This candidate was Mata Ayer assemblyman Khairi Hasan who had wanted to challenge incumbent Padang Besar Umno head Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, who is also the MP for Padang Besar.
Perlis Umno saw 540 candidates vying for various posts in the three divisions in the state.
In KUALA TERENGGANU, Terengganu Umno elections committee chairman Datuk Muda Mamat said 34 candidates, most of them from the Besut division, had withdrawn from contesting from various divisional posts including in the three wings.
He said Besut saw 19 candidates withdrawing followed by Setiu (eight), Hulu Terengganu (four ) and Dungun, Kuala Nerus and Kuala Terengganu one each.
Following the development in Besut, the incumbents for the division chief post (Nawi Mohamad), deputy head (Mahadi Musa), Youth chief (Azizul Jasmi Mohamad) and Youth vice chief (Wan Zulkifli Aizan Wan Zakaria) were left without any challengers, he told a press conference.
The division also saw a shock development when its incumbent head Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, who is also Second Education Minister, declined to defend his post which he has held since 1999 and instead opted for the vice head post which he won without contest.
Terengganu has eight Umno divisions namely Besut, Setiu, Kuala Nerus, Kuala Terengganu, Hulu Terengganu, Marang, Dungun and Kemaman.
– BERNAMA
