Six State Elections : Poor Voter Turnout, Not In PH's Favour

 Ok lets say something about the boring elections. Some news is trickling in. Its 1.30 pm now and the turnout has been poor. The "data" indicates a voter turnout of not more than 33% only as at 11 am. (I have programmed to publish this post after 4 PM.)

1.  1:30 PM Report -  The polls close in four and a half hours. I received the following TWO graphics for voter turnout as at 11 am. I really hope it is not fake.

 

So the highest turnout as at 11 am was 33% in Terengganu.

Selangor was only 28% while Penang was 29%.

A high voter turnout would be a definite vote of no confidence against whoever loses.

A low voter turnout would also be a definite vote of no confidence against whoever loses.

Penang and Selangor have seen only 29% and 28% respectively. 

Some folks feel that a low voter turnout is not good for the PH.

If the argument about low voter turnout is true, then I think that PH is going to have their goose cooked in Penang and Selangor.

Its too late to change peoples' minds. I just got a live report from Penang at 1.30 PM. Its like this:

"In the supermarket now at 1.30 PM, out of every 10 Chinese adults say only two of them have blue ink on the finger. In the Malay areas in Penang where the candidate is from UMNO the Chinese are almost completely absent at the polling center."

So the Chinese are protesting by NOT GOING OUT TO VOTE. This will certainly damage PH's chances because the Chinese "were" the PH's Fixed Deposits. Maybe not any more.

 

2. Second report for voter turnout at 12.00 PM. At 12 pm the voter turnout is as follows:

 

The turnout is still low at 38% and 36% for Penang and Selangor respectively. Lim Guan Eng would soon release a statement that he was worried about the low voter turnout.

3. PN complains of Ballot Box sabotage at Paya Terubong, Penang

A ballot box in a polling station in Paya Terubong was found to be unsealed and ballot casting for that stream had to be stopped.

A total of 177 ballot papers were already cast into the box when Perikatan Nasional candidate Ooi Ghee Oon discovered the unsealed ballot box in SK Seri Relau.

Sin Chew Daily reported that Ooi declared he would not recognise any of the ballots in that box as valid votes and asked for Election Commission to suspend voting for that stream, which was to have 719 voters.

It is understood that the seal was left on the table next to the ballot box.

Election Commission officials are investigating and it is not yet known if the 177 ballot papers would be invalidated.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/08/12/state-polls-voting-suspended-in-paya-terubong-after-ballot-box-found-unsealed

4.  Past 4PM the turnout has increased to about 53% in Penang. The polls close at 6PM, just under two hours away. It remains to be seen if the turnout will hit 60%. The DAP boys are panicky in Penang. Reports from Penang say that there are not many (someone said 'none') DAP party cars with flags and banners driving around - to ferry voters.

They say the UMNO machinery on the ground in Penang is dead. Like the Chinese voters many UMNO voters are just not going out to vote. PKR still does not have much of a machinery to shout about. In the past they depended a lot on PAS.

The voter turnout in Kelantan is perhaps the lowest among the SIX States (34% at 12 pm). The suggestion is the UMNO folks in Kelantan are staying at home in protest. It is mostly PAS people going out to vote.

Lets wait for the vote counts tonite.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.