Polling for the Bukit Gelugor by-election has begun at 17 polling centres in the parliamentary constituency and with the Barisan Nasional staying out of the contest, DAP candidate Ramkarpal Singh is expected to win the four-cornered fight when the votes are tallied this evening.
The DAP is seeking to defend the seat left vacant after the well-known and highly-respected incumbent Karpal Singh died in an accident on April 17 on the North-South Expressway near Kampar, Perak.
The campaign for Bukit Gelugor, which started on May 12, lost its lustre after the MCA, which failed to make headway in the DAP stronghold during the past three consecutive general elections since 2004, opted to stay out.
Against this backdrop, the DAP is seeking to record an even larger majority than Karpal did last year in the general election where he had won with a whooping 42,706 vote majority over the MCA, following a high voter turnout of 86.3%.
DAP had said that it hoped to have a larger majority to send a clear message to Barisan Nasional that the people have had enough with the coalition's administration and politics, as well as to set the momentum for the Teluk Intan by-election in Perak this coming Saturday.
DAP's Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud is up against BN's Datuk Mah Siew Keong in the Teluk Intan by-election.
The Election Commission (EC) is expecting a voter turnout of 76% to 78% from the total 82,283 voters in the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary constituency, although some political observers have predicted that it could be just 60% to 65%.
The 38-year-old Ramkarpal faces Parti Cinta Malaysia vice-president Datuk Huan Cheng Guan and independent candidates Mohd Nabi Bux Mohd Abdul Sathar and Abu Backer Sidek Mohammad Zan.
None of the four candidates will be voting for themselves as they are not registered Bukit Gelugor voters but a prominent voter in the constituency is chief minister Lim Guan Eng.
The DAP secretary-general is expected to cast his vote this afternoon at Seri Delima's Sekolah Menengah Chung Hwa Confucian together with his mother Neo Yok Tee and sister Lim Hui Ying, and Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer.
Other local DAP leaders voting in Bukit Gelugor include Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik, Paya Terubong assemblyman Yeoh Soon Hin, and Batu Lanchang assemblyman and state tourism exco Danny Law.
The busiest polling centres are expected to be at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Air Itam in Farlim, Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Kong Min Cawangan 2 in Air Itam and SMK Hamid Khan in Seri Delima.
SMK Air Itam has 28 polling streams with 18,900 voters while Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Kong Min Cawangan 2 has 24 streams with 14,900 voters. SMK Hamid Khan has 12 streams with 7,900 voters.
For early voting on Wednesday in Bukit Gelugor, 83.1% of 146 voters, made up of police and military personnel, cast their votes at four polling centres. The EC also received 68 postal votes on the same day.
The EC is expected to announce the official results of the by-election latest by 9pm at Dewan Sri Pinang.
On the campaign trail, Karpal’s third son Ramkarpal Singh has pledged to continue his father's fight in Parliament to uphold the constitution, fight for justice and oppose the implementation of hudud law, among others.
In his election manifesto, he promised to look into ways to improve the traffic system, building public recreational areas, upgrading the wet markets, reviewing the education system, housing and development, and preservation of the environment.
Huan, a former Barisan Nasional MP for Batu Kawan when he was with Gerakan, is said to be the BN-friendly candidate in the by-election and is expected to garner the lion’s share of the anti-DAP vote in the ballot.
In his manifesto, he pledged to fight crime and corruption, to check on indiscriminate state land sales, and ensuring a decent and sustainable quality of life for Penangites, namely in Bukit Gelugor.
He also promised to get federal funds to build affordable homes for lower-income Penang residents, improve public infrastructure, solve traffic jam woes, and ensure those who destroy the environment face severe penalties.
The two independent candidates had not been taken very seriously. Nabi Bux, who claimed he is a PAS member, promoted hudud and even alleged that Lim secretly supported hudud.
Abu Backer earned notoriety when he threw himself at Guan Eng's official car in front of the state legislative assembly building last Tuesday.
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