KOTA KINABALU, Sept 26 -- Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) information chief, staved off a challenge from a party leader and former ally to retain the Kiulu seat in the 16th Sabah state election today.

He beat Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, president of the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) and a former deputy chief minister, in a six-cornered contest for the Kiulu seat.

Joniston secured 4,007 votes to win by a majority of 1,221 votes. Madius polled 2,786 votes.

In the 2018 election, PBS and UPKO had been component parties of Barisan Nasional (BN) but Madius aligned UPKO with Parti Warisan Sabah after the polls. 

In the six-cornered fight in today’s election, Andau Yasun of Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) received 363 votes; Rozylyn Gelunu of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), 274 votes and independents Dominic Yasun and Jolianis Lampog, 266 votes and 20 votes, respectively. All these four candidates lost their deposits. 

A total of 7,818 votes were cast, giving a turnout of 71.8 per cent. Seventy-eight ballots were rejected while 24 ballot papers were unreturned.

Joniston has gone from strength to strength in the state elections.

In the first election he contested in 2013, he garnered only a 44-vote majority, polling 3,745 votes to beat Rhodes Panilau of PKR (3,701 votes); Terence Sinti of STAR (1,025); Independent John Hussein (517) and Tindil Sindin Gonsobil of SAPP (129).

In the 2018 election, he polled 4,336 votes to win by a majority of 1,443 votes. His opponents were Jo-Anna Sue Henley Rampas of Parti Warisan Sabah (2,893 votes), Terence Sinti of STAR (2,457) and Gaibin Ransoi of PCS (543).

-- BERNAMA