The Johor Menteri Besar, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, will face a straight fight as he seeks to defend the Machap state seat in the 16th Johor state election.
Election Returning Officer Mohd Izzul Helmi Ahmad confirmed that Onn Hafiz, representing Barisan Nasional (BN), will contest against Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Nur Hafiz Roslan following the closure of nomination proceedings.
He said both nomination papers were accepted without any objections.
“I received two nomination papers. The first was from the PH candidate at 9.03am, followed by the BN candidate at 9.06am.
“I have reviewed all nomination papers and none were rejected,” he said during a brief press conference at the Machap Nomination Centre at Dewan Muafakat, Simpang Renggam District Council, on Saturday.
The Machap contest is expected to draw significant attention as Onn Hafiz is both the Menteri Besar and BN Johor chairman.
Onn Hafiz arrived at the nomination centre earlier in the morning, accompanied by senior BN leaders including BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, former UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, and Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
Hundreds of BN supporters dressed in blue gathered outside the nomination centre as early as 8am, waving party flags and chanting slogans in support of the coalition.
Nur Hafiz, who is also a member of AMANAH’s Youth Committee, arrived separately with PH supporters and was accompanied by AMANAH vice-president Datuk Mohd Hatta Ramli.
PH supporters were seen cheering “reformasi” as their candidate entered the nomination centre.
Onn Hafiz is defending the Machap seat for a second term after winning it in the 2022 Johor state election with a 6,543-vote majority, securing 11,029 votes in a four-cornered contest.
He previously held the Layang-Layang seat after winning it in the 14th General Election in 2018 with a narrow 364-vote majority.
Nur Hafiz was among PH candidates announced by coalition chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim earlier this week, as part of efforts to field more young leaders in the Johor state election.
The election sees contests in all 56 state seats, with 2,727,926 voters eligible to cast their ballots, including over 2.7 million ordinary voters, 12,041 military personnel and spouses, and 12,710 police personnel and spouses.
Polling day is set for July 11, with early voting scheduled for July 7.
