Zahid said it was Tengku Razaleigh, better known as Ku Li, who had suggested Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani’s candidacy.

“Ku Li will organise the party machinery as election director, and (Kelantan Umno chief) Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub will act as operations director.

“We are confident that Umno supporters and voters will continue to lend their support under Ku Li’s leadership,” he said after the nomination of candidates for the Nenggiri by-election closed this morning.

Azmawi, the Kelantan Umno Youth chief, will face Perikatan Nasional’s Rizwadi Ismail, who is standing under the PAS logo, in a straight fight. Rizwadi joined Bersatu from PAS days earlier.

Zahid, who is also the Umno president, said he was confident Azmawi’s youth would work in the BN candidate’s favour, given the constituency’s voter demographics.

“We know the majority of Nenggiri’s voters are aged 40 and below. He can represent not only Nenggiri’s voters, but also the next generation in Gua Musang and Kelantan,” he said.

The Nenggiri by-election is being held after the Kelantan assembly speaker declared the seat vacant following Azizi Abu Naim’s exit from Bersatu.

Azizi’s membership in Bersatu was terminated for his failure to declare his loyalty to his party and his declaration of support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.

According to the election roll, as of June 18, there are 20,259 eligible voters in Nenggiri, comprising 20,245 ordinary voters and 14 police officers. There will be no early voting.

BN won the Nenggiri seat for four consecutive elections since 2004 before losing it to PN in last year’s state election, when Azizi defeated Umno’s Ab Aziz Yussof with a majority of 810 votes.