
Affandi is the former chief of defence forces.
The by-election is being held after a ruling by an election court which nullified Perikatan Nasional’s win in the constituency in last year’s general election (GE15) over bribery claims.
The seat had been won by PAS’s Che Alias Hamid with a majority of 27,170 votes over his nearest rival, former menteri besar Ahmad Said of Umno, who contested on a BN ticket.
BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who announced Affandi’s candidacy, said the party feels Kemaman is not a PAS stronghold.
“Kemaman is an Umno stronghold, but due to PAS’s false accusations about us and the money they spent there, we lost a seat we previously held with a majority of more than 27,000.
“This time around, we are confident the voters in Kemaman will support Affandi,” Zahid, who is also the Umno president, said at party headquarters.
Affandi briefly said he will ensure Umno’s trust will be paid back.
“This is a call of duty,” he said.
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