BARISAN Nasional has regained the Nenggiri state seat in Kelantan with a 2,802-vote majority, Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki declared on Saturday night.

He said the BN candidate Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani polled 6,911 votes to the 4,109 votes secured by his rival Perikatan Nasional candidate Rizwadi Ismail.

Asyraf said: Thank you, voters, for returning Nenggiri to BN.

Based on early results with votes counted in 37 of 47 polling channels. He said BN is leading in 15 out of 20 polling districts.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong later thanked Nenggiri voters for their confidence and trust in BN. He also congratulated the BN election machinery and urged Azmawi to fulfill his duties and responsibilities as the new assemblyman.

The voice of Nenggiri will surely be heard in the Kelantan state assembly, said Wee.

The seat has been an Umno stronghold for four terms until 2022. It was closely contested in two previous elections, with BN winning by just 461 votes in 2018 before PN wrested it for the first time last year, with a slightly larger 810-vote majority.

The Nenggiri constituency has 20,230 registered voters, comprising 17,636 Malay voters, 36 Chinese voters, eight Indian voters, and 2,843 voters from other ethnic groups, including Orang Asli.

Official results are expected to be announced by returning officer Nik Raisnan Daud at 9pm at the earliest.

In the Kelantan state assembly elections in August, BN won seven out of 20 polling stations while PN took the remaining 13.