26 Melaka election candidates forfeit deposits, most from Bersama

In the 16th Melaka election, 26 candidates across various political parties forfeited their election deposits due to failing to secure at least one-eighth of the total votes cast. Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) faced the highest number of candidates forfeiting their deposits, with 15 out of 16 candidates falling short of the required minimum votes.

Bersatu saw five of its seven candidates lose their deposits, while Pakatan Harapan experienced two of its 24 candidates forfeiting their deposits. Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), which had a single candidate in Gadek, and three independent candidates also did not meet the vote threshold to retain their deposits.

Barisan Nasional's Datuk Rais Yasin emerged as the frontrunner, securing the largest winning majority of 16,214 votes in Sungai Udang. This victory came at the expense of the Bersatu and Bersama candidates, who garnered 2,103 and 1,322 votes respectively. Sungai Udang was one of the closely contested seats in the Melaka election, with 22,195 out of 29,692 registered voters participating.

The seat saw a contest between BN candidate Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem and candidates from the People's Party (PH) and Bersama, with Ngwe emerging victorious by a margin of 938 votes. Ngwe had previously won the Machap Jaya state seat in the 2021 Melaka election with a majority of 938 votes.