The chosen candidates were said to have met with Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur earlier today, Utusan Malaysia reported.
The list will be announced by Mohamad, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman, at the Dewan Tun Hussein Onn, World Trade Centre KL (WTCKL), at 10am this Saturday.
In the last general election (GE14) in May 2018, BN fielded 18 candidates from Umno, eight from MCA, and one each from MIC and Gerakan (which is now part of Perikatan Nasional). Of the 18 seats it contested, Umno won 13, while its coalition partners failed to win any seats.
Umno now has 11 seats following the sacking of former Melaka chief minister Idris Haron (Sungai Udang) and Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor) after they retracted their support for the state government last month.
It is understood that of these 11 seats, only three incumbents will remain, namely caretaker chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali who is also Lendu assemblyman, Rahmad Mariman (Ayer Molek) and Zaidi Atan (Serkam).
Two Umno division chiefs are among those sidelined – Hasan Rahman (Jasin) who won the Sungai Rambai seat in GE14, and Abdul Ghafaar Atan (Alor Gajah) who won in Asahan.
Among the new faces are Melaka Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh, who is set to contest in the Tanjung Bidara seat, which was previously won by Md Rawi Mahmud.
His deputy, Mohamad Ali Mohamad, who is also Tangga Batu Umno chief, is the candidate for the Pantai Kundor seat and could face the incumbent Nor Azman.
Umno Supreme Council member Khaidhirah Abu Zahar will also step into the ring, replacing incumbent Ghazale Muhamad as a candidate for the Rim state seat.
Melaka Umno deputy youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh will contest in Merlimau, replacing Jasin Umno deputy chief Roslan Ahmad.
Another Umno Supreme Council member, Rais Yasin will be fielded at Paya Rumput while Tangga Batu Umno committee member Mohd Fasarul Md Isa will be the candidate for the Sungai Udang seat.
Also listed were Hang Tuah Jaya Umno chief Ridhwan Ali for Pengkalan Batu and his deputy, Hasnoor Sidang Husin in Bukit Katil.
Kota Melaka Umno chief Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman who lost in GE14 will be nominated again in the same Telok Mas seat.
It was previously reported that BN will contest all 28 state seats but the breakdown among its coalition partners had not been finalised.
Melaka goes to the polls on Nov 20, with early voting starting from Nov 16. The nomination day is set for Nov 8.