GEORGE TOWN, May 25 — Even if DAP was to secure a resounding victory in Bukit Gelugor by-election, the party is still facing a very hard battle in next week’s Teluk Intan by-election, its party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said.

Lim, who had just returned from visiting the constituency in Perak this morning, said the DAP was not a frontrunner in Teluk Intan, despite having taken the federal seat at the last general election last year.

“BN is still very far ahead of us and we are fighting for our lives in Teluk Intan,” the Penang chief minister said in a press conference after casting his vote in the Bukit Gelugor polls at about 3.15pm at SMK Chung Hwa Confucian here.

When asked if the momentum from Penang might have spilled over to Teluk Intan, he played down his party’s chance on the Perak front, saying the DAP was lagging behind its Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition foe.

“Whatever it is, we are still behind in Teluk Intan. Hypothetically speaking, even if we win 100 per cent of the votes here, we are still behind in Teluk Intan,” he said.

He added that it was more or less a foregone conclusion that the party is likely to retain the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat.

The Penang lawmaker also noted the lower turnout at the by-election here, which is at only 48 per cent by 3pm.

“It is not surprising that the turnout here is lower than expected because Barisan Nasional (BN) is not contesting here and many already expected Ramkarpal will win,” he said.

However, he believed that more focus is now on Teluk Intan nationally where it will be a tough fight for the party.

“It is a new face, a new era of politics in Teluk Intan so that is why many are focused there instead of here,” he said.

Voting for the Bukit Gelugor opens at 8am and will close at 5pm.

The Election Commission is expected to announce the results by 9pm at the vote counting centre in Dewan Sri Pinang in George Town.