MELAKA, Oct 30 — The race for the 28 State Legislative Assembly seats in the 16th Melaka state election is heating up, with 75 candidates announced so far by the five coalitions and parties set to contest.

The process of announcing candidates began as early as August, with Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) being the first to unveil its 16 candidates.

This was followed by Pakatan Harapan (PH), which announced on October 24 that it would contest 21 seats, the coalition later added three more, bringing its total to 24 seats.

Within this coalition, 10 seats have been allocated to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), seven to the DAP, and seven to Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).

Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional (BN) will contest 22 seats, fielding 18 candidates from Umno, three from the MCA, and one from the MIC.

Last night, Perikatan Nasional (PN) also announced five candidates, comprising two from PAS, two from Wawasan, and one from Gerakan while Bersatu is fielding eight candidates.

Based on the candidate announcements from PH, BN, PN, Bersama, and Bersatu as of last night, the contests are expected to shape up as follows: 13 straight fights (one-on-one), 11 three-cornered fights, and four four-cornered fights.

As of last night, 189 nomination forms had reportedly been purchased, with 45 prospective candidates having already paid their deposits.

The Election Commission (EC) has set November 14 as the polling day for the Melaka state election, with candidate nominations on October 31 and early voting on November 10. — Bernama