KUCHING: Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is confident that it will be able to maintain its two-thirds majority in the Dec 18 state election but may see the number of seats won decrease.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Wanita I vice -chief Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said she estimated that GPS would be able to win 65 of the state assembly seats compared to the 72 seats it won in the 2016 state election.
She said the expectation of a decrease in the number of seats did not mean that she did not believe in the strength of GPS, instead, it was a safe estimate.
Nancy said it was also made by taking into account the new norms in the election campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic season as well as the stiff competition from multi-cornered fights.
"The state election this time around only has a few seats involving one-on-one contests, others involve three, four and some even six cornered fights.
"This marks a new norm for us, not that I have no confidence in GPS, but as 'old people ' (veterans) we need to speak subtly.
"Out of 72 seats, it is safe to estimate 65 seats, which I think is an ambitious target. I am just hopeful that we would be able to maintain the 72 seats," he said in a virtual talk show, today.
Elaborating further, Nancy, who is also the Member of Parliament for Batang Sadong, admitted that GPS has a challenging task to maintain the status quo of the 72 seats.
She is hopeful that voters could make a fair assessment of all GPS seat holders.
She urged voters not to reject GPS candidates just because their requests were not successful.
"Just because you do not like a community leader in the village, our candidate is victimised. Such an action is not sensible as we want to elect a leader for the state.
"Just because he did not get the requested piece of land, he was angry with the candidate. The land is not the candidate's, as the elected representative is his responsibility to help with the application," she said.
