KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Gerakan has expressed its intention to contest more seats in the 15th general election (GE15) than it did in the last polls when it was a member of Barisan Nasional (BN).

Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai said this was in line with its role as the voice representing non-Bumiputeras in Perikatan Nasional (PN).

"If we assume PN contesting all the 222 (parliamentary) seats, it follows that Gerakan wants to contest more seats than during the time of BN, because of our role in non-Muslim, non-Bumiputera majority seats.

"However, we must remember that PN has an affiliate wing comprising non-Malay parties,” he told a news conference after the Gerakan central committee meeting here today.

In GE14, Gerakan lost in all the 22 parliamentary and 31 state seats it contested under the BN banner. Following BN’s defeat in GE14, Gerakan quit the coalition on June 23, 2018.

Gerakan joined PN on Feb 11 this year as the ruling coalition’s fifth component party.

Lau also said the party’s state leadership had been directed to set up war rooms in preparation for GE15, which is expected to be held once the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control. — Bernama