Sarawak DAP is seeking to minimise multi-cornered contests against Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the Dec 12 state election to prevent opposition votes from being split.
Sarawak DAP secretary Alan Ling said the fragmentation of opposition votes had benefited GPS in several seats during the 2021 state election, Borneo Post reported.
Opposition vote splitting in 2021
In the 2021 polls, DAP lost five seats to GPS – Kota Sentosa, Bukit Assek, Pelawan, Tanjong Batu and Pujut.
All five seats saw multi-cornered contests involving several opposition parties, including the now-defunct Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK).
DAP finished second to GPS in all five contests, while candidates from PSB and PBK secured thousands of votes each, significantly splitting support that might otherwise have gone to DAP.
PSB has since been dissolved and absorbed into the Progressive Democratic Party, a component of GPS.
DAP eyes electoral understanding
As part of efforts to reduce the likelihood of multi-cornered contests, Ling said DAP hoped to reach an electoral understanding with Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak.
He added that there was likely to be limited overlap between the two parties as their strengths lay in different areas.
‘DAP focuses more on urban seats,’ he said.
