can benefit the rural community. However, tenders for the infrastructure projects were also awarded according to party lines. Poverty in the rural areas had fostered dependence on government handouts, thus rural communities showed more loyalty to the government when compared to urban areas. Sarawak is ethnically diverse. The Iban people is the largest group, followed by Chinese, Malay, Melanau people, Bidayuh, and Orang Ulu. The Ibans are primarily located in rural areas, the Chinese is primarily located in the urban areas; Bidayuh was traditionally rural but has been increasingly urbanised. Since the 1970s, the chief minister of Sarawak traditionally come from Melanau ethnic group. Similar to Peninsular Malaysia, delineation of constituencies and campaign issues are organised along racial lines. Electoral system Since formation of Malaysia in 1963, Sarawak has hold nine state elections. Since 1979, Sarawak hold state elections separately from the national parliamentary elections. Thus, Sarawak elections become a measure of support of the incumbent government before the next Malaysian general elections. Malaysian electoral system uses the first-past-the-post voting system, where winners take all. Therefore, Sarawak BN consistently won greater proportion of seats than the share of popular vote. Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) had been alleged to be politically aligned with the incumbent government since 1961. The chairman of EC is appointed by the incumbent government and is answerable to the Malaysian prime minister department. Nomination The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly was dissolved by chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. The nomination date was set on 9 May 2006 with campaign period set from 10 to 19 May. This election also saw larger number of women candidates being fielded by both government and opposition parties. BN nominated six women candidates while the opposition slated four women candidates. BN has introduced 18 new faces in the election. There were only a total of 892,537 registered voters in this election, which was less than a third of the 2.5 million total population in Sarawak. Out of 71 seats, only 69 seats saw contests between various candidates. Two seats – namely Daro and Dalat – were won uncontested by candidates from Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu, a component party in Barisan Nasional. Parties and leaders Government Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and its predecessor Alliance has been securing decisive victories in every state elections since the formation of Malaysia. Sarawak is also one of the five states in Malaysia where the governing BN