KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Nurul Izzah Anwar (picture) kept her Lembah Pantai seat today after the Election Court struck out a petition filed by an Umno Youth leader to challenge the results of the May 5 general election in the constituency.

According to several media reports this morning, the court allowed most of the preliminary objections raised by the PKR vice-president and ordered Lembah Pantai Umno division Youth chief Mohamad Sazali Kamilan to pay RM40,000 in costs.

In his petition, Sazali claimed that on May 4 Nurul Izzah, who was defending the seat under PKR’s banner, had allegedly influenced voters in the area by telling them not to vote for her contender, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Raja Datuk Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.

He also accused the Lembah Pantai incumbent of issuing false statements, which he said were carried by Malaysiakini.

Sazali also claimed that the returning officer had failed to report to the Election Commission that two ballot boxes for Lembah Pantai were damaged, purportedly by a group of PKR supporters who obstructed the vehicle carrying the boxes to the vote tallying centre.

In the hard-fought battle for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah retained the seat and defeated Raja Nong Chik, who was then the federal territories and urban well-being minister.

The PKR vice-president polled 31,008 votes against Raja Nong Chik’s 29,161, winning the seat with a majority of 1,847 votes.

In the wake of his defeat, Raja Nong Chik filed a lawsuit on July 17 against Nurul Izzah and two others for allegedly defaming him over the purchase of land in Bukit Kiara.