AYER KEROH: Barisan Nasional (BN) incumbent Datuk Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem has unofficially retained the Duyong state seat with a commanding 10,067-vote majority in the 16th Melaka state election.
According to unofficial party tallies, Noor Helmy garnered 15,064 votes to decisively defeat Pakatan Harapan (PH) challenger Poo Long Suan, who polled 4,997 votes.
The result marks a dramatic turnaround from the 2021 state election, when Noor Helmy won the seat by a razor-thin 200-vote majority.
Duyong, an urban-suburban mixed constituency under the Kota Melaka parliamentary seat, comprises roughly 63.8 per cent Malay, 29.9 per cent Chinese, and 4.8 per cent Indian voters.
The seat had been held by DAP for two consecutive terms. It was previously won by Goh Leong San in 2013 and Damian Yeo Shen Li in 2018 before Noor Helmy wrested it back for BN in a six-cornered contest in 2021 with 4,684 votes against Yeo’s 4,484.
Following the 2021 polls, Noor Helmy was appointed Melaka Deputy Exco for Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Communication.
Official results is expected to be announced by the Election Commission (EC) at midnight.