PUTRAJAYA: Political observers will be watching with great interest as Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional are expected to announce their candidates for the 15th General Election (GE15) today.
The announcements are being made three days before Nomination Day on Saturday.
Barisan is expected to announce its election nominees at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur at 8pm. The announcement will be made by coalition chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
On the other side of town but at around the same time, Perikatan will also make known those who will contest under its banner.
Its announcement will be made at the Malaysia International Trade Centre (Mitec).
Barisan sources said the coalition would be naming its candidates contesting in parliamentary seats in the peninsula and Sabah.
“We have finalised the list of candidates and will be making the appropriate announcement so as to give them time to prepare for the nomination process,” said one source.
“We managed to undergo the process (of seat negotiations) in the spirit of Barisan,” said the source, adding that candidates contesting in Perak, Perlis and Pahang state seats would be announced at the state level. An official media invite is expected to be issued today.Earlier yesterday, the Perikatan headquarters issued an invite to the media for an event today to announce its candidates. The list of candidates will be unveiled by its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Warisan will also make known its candidates contesting in seats in Peninsular Malaysia today. The announcement will be made by party president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal at Galaxy Ampang Mall at Taman Dagang, Selangor, at 10am.
Shafie had earlier indicated that Warisan might contest in parliamentary seats in seven states in the peninsula. Previously known as Parti Warisan Sabah, the party was renamed after expanding into national-level politics.