BUKIT MERTAJAM, MALAYSIA: PKR's Mansor Othman has won the Penanti state seat, beating three independents in a by-election that was given a miss by Barisan Nasional and a large number of voters despite it being a Sunday.

He polled 6,052 votes beating his nearest opponent, Nai-Kan Ari by 5,558 votes, more than double that of his predecessor Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin who had won by a 2,219 majority against Datuk Abdul Jalil Majid of Barisan Nasional.

Nai-Khan obtained 494 votes.

Mansor won 32 of the 33 streams and only lost in the postal votes.

The victory paves the way for him to be appointed as Penang Deputy Chief Minister I.

Two other independents, Aminah Abdullah, the former PKR Penang Wanita chief, and Kamarul Ramizu Idris obtained 392 and 56 votes respectively.

All three independent candidates lost their deposits. There were 107 spoilt votes.

The results were announced by returning officer Roslan Yahya at 8.24pm at the Youth Skills Develop-ment Institute in Penanti.

Only 7,101 voters or 46.15% of the 15,384 voters cast their votes at the nine polling stations - lower than the 70% expected by the Election Com-mission (EC).

The voter turnout in the constituency in last year's general election was 82.13%.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, who was disappointed, said the commission would study the reasons for the low turnout.

"We do not know the reasons but we will do a study. It is much lower than what we expected," he said, adding he was happy that the by-election was calm and peaceful.

The votes obtained by Mansor was lower than the 7,000 predicted by PKR election director Saifuddin Nasution, who had also expected some 10,000 voters to come out yesterday.

Mansor thanked the voters, PKR leaders, supporters and election workers for his win, adding that he was looking forward to serving the people in his new capacity as DCM I.

Aminah, who provided the heat to the otherwise cool and peaceful campaign period by claiming that PKR had offered her RM80,000 and the Seberang Prai Municipal Council president's post if she withdrew from the contest, said she viewed her defeat as a victory following the low voter turnout.

"This is a reflection that many voters are not in favour of PKR.

"I will continue to fight against PKR and reveal the truth about the party. I will make a more shocking announcement when the time comes," she said.

Aminah, during her campaign, also alleged that PKR leaders had offered her the Deputy Chief Minister's post if she won and rejoined the party.

Nai-Khan said he accepted the defeat but added that he would contest in the next general election.

"I am upset that I lost my deposit and did not get support from voters in my two strongholds of Kampung Teluk Jawa and Sungai Lembu," he said.

Kamarul said he would continue with his earlier plan to form a political party called Parti Iman Se-Malaysia (PIS), which would be open to all Malaysians.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the mandate given by the people was highly encouraging.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Mansor would be sworn in as DCM I on Wednesday morning.

The usual buzz and excitement surrounding by-elections were missing in Penanti.

This was because the EC had enforced the no "pondok panas" rule within 50m of polling stations, prohibiting party workers from being involved in last-minute canvassing for votes.

However, both the FRU and police personnel remained on stand-by for any eventualities.

Voters in Penanti comprise 72.68% Malays, 24.44% Chinese, 2.39% Indians and 0.71% other races.

Among the earliest to vote was Nai-Khan at the Kampung Tun Sardon community hall at 8.40am.

The Penanti seat fell vacant when Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin quit as assemblyman on April 16 after stepping down as Penang Deputy Chief Minister I on April 8.