The petitions are for the seats of Pintasan, Karambunai, Darau, Sindumin, Petagas and Kukusan.
“The petitions were filed in the election court within 21 days after the results were gazetted on Oct 6,” an official with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) told FMT today on the condition of anonymity.
The AGC will represent the returning officers and the EC who are also named as respondents to the action.
Pandikar contested the newly created Pintasan seat and lost to Fairuz Renddan of Perikatan Nasional-PPBM (PN) in a six-cornered contest.
Fairuz won the seat with a 84-vote majority over second-placed Pandikar from Usno.
The official said there were two petitions filed for the Sindumin seat.
“One by a candidate who was disqualified on grounds he was a bankrupt while another by a candidate who lost in the six-cornered fight,” the official said.
The Sindumin seat was won by Yusof Yaakob of Warisan.
Ahmad Jais Otong of Warisan who lost to Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Yakub Khan by 16 votes in a seven-way fight for the Karambunai seat also filed a legal challenge.
BN candidate Jumat Idris who lost to Warisan’s Azhar Matussin by 562 votes in a six-cornered fight filed a challenge for the Darau seat.
A petition was filed for the Kukusan seat which was won by Rina Jainal of Warisan. She won the seat with a 10-vote majority over Chaya Sulaiman (BN), in a seven-cornered fight.
The victory by Warisan’s Awang Ahmad Shah in Petagas is also being legally challenged. He won with a 261-majority over second-placed Arsit Sedi from PN-PPBM in a five-cornered fight.
High Court judge Alwi Abdul Wahab who is based in Kuching will be the election judge for the Sindumin seat while Dean Wayne Daly, currently sitting in Miri, will preside over the Petagas petition.
For the remaining four seats, the court has yet to fix a case management date.
Section 35A of the Election Offences Act states that all election challenges must be completed within six months after a petition is filed.
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) won the Sabah election to form the new state government. GRS, comprising PN, BN and PBS won 38 seats – with PN taking 17 seats, BN (14) and PBS (seven).
Warisan Plus, comprising Warisan, DAP, PKR and Upko, won 32 seats. Another three seats went to independent candidates, who have also aligned themselves with GRS in the state government.