Kinabatangan Parliamentary by-election, Lamag DUN by-election on 24 Jan 2026
PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling day for the Kinabatangan Parliamentary and Lamag State Legislative Assembly (DUN) by-elections, Sabah, on January 24, 2026.
EC Chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said the dates for the nomination of candidates and early voting for the by-election were set for Jan 10 and Jan 20 respectively.
He said this at a press conference after chairing a special meeting to discuss matters and important dates related to the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections at the EC Tower here today.
The Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections need to be held following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, on Dec 5 at a private hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Ramlan said the electoral roll for the by-election contained 48,722 voters, consisting of 48,526 ordinary voters and 196 police officers who were early voters.
He also informed that the allocation for holding the Kinabatangan and Lamag state by-elections amounted to RM10 million.
In the 17th Sabah State Election (PRN) held on Nov 29, Bung Moktar, 66, defended the Lamag State Assembly seat with a majority of 153 votes in a six-cornered contest.
The Lamag state assembly seat was contested for the first time during the 16th general election in 2020.
Meanwhile, during the 10th General Election in November 1999, Bung Moktar won the Kinabatangan Parliamentary seat and served as the constituency’s elected representative for six terms.
According to Ramlan, the campaigning period is set at 14 days starting after the declaration of candidates contesting on Jan 10, 2026 until 11.59pm on Jan 23, while applications for all categories of overseas and domestic postal votes for the by-election are open online from today.
He said the closing date for applications for postal votes is Jan 8, 2026 for category 1A (election officials, EC members or officers, police, military and media personnel) and Jan 6, 2026 for category 1B (Malaysian citizens living abroad) and category 1C (agencies/organisations).
He said that to carry out the by-election process, the EC appointed a returning officer assisted by eight assistant returning officers while Dewan Sri Lamag, Kinabatangan was used as the Candidate Nomination Centre (PPC) and the Official Vote Tallying Centre (PPRU) and 1,106 staff were appointed to handle the process.
“A total of 36 regular polling centres containing 117 polling stations or channels and one early polling centre containing one early polling station or channel will be used,” he said.
The EC advises prospective candidates to review their forms and pay their deposits well in advance of nomination day, and that completed and reviewed nomination papers must be submitted at the designated PPC.
Apart from that, the EC also opens up opportunities for any government agency, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) or body that is interested to become an observer to see the conduct of the by-election process starting from the day of candidate nomination until the announcement of results at the PPC, polling centres, vote counting venues and PPRU.
Voters can check voting information via the SPR portal, hotline or application, while information and election observer application forms can be found on the www.spr.gov.my portal from today until 31 Dec 2025.
-Agency
