Wednesday June 4, 2008 MYT 10:19:14 AM

Rembau election petition struck out

By SARBAN SINGH

SEREMBAN: The High Court here has struck out an election petition challenging the outcome of the Rembau parliamentary seat won by Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin in the recent general election.

The petition was filed on April 25 by PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, also known as the blogger “Chegu Bard,” who had vied for the seat against Khairy in the March 8 polls.

Khairy won the seat with a 5,746-vote majority.

Judge Datuk Mohtaruddin Baki dismissed the petition with cost, saying that there were too many defects in the petition and that the petitioner had failed to prove that any alleged irregularity could have changed the outcome of the election.

“These twin requirements is a must,” he said in his ruling.

The petition alleged there were several irregularities in the vote tally, including a discrepancy in the number of ballots issued.

Badrul also claimed that he did not receive a Form 14, which lists the number of voters at every polling station.