DAP candidate shocked EC closing some polling stations earlier

JOHOR POLLS | The decision by the Election Commission (EC) to close earlier several polling centres in the Johor election with the excuse of a low number of voters in the area is a shocking one, said DAP’s M Kanan.

When contacted, Kanan, who is a candidate for the Bekok state seat, confirmed that at least three polling centres were closed at 2pm while one was closed at 4pm.

“I am shocked by the EC’s decision to close the voting centres earlier because of a low number of voters. What is the rationale behind the EC’s decision?

“They should open all voting centres until 6pm to uphold the rights of voters who have yet to come out to vote.

“What if a voter who is working today may come to vote in the evening?” he questioned.

According to a polling agent, the three polling centres that were closed at 2pm were in PDM Ladang Kempas, Ladang Getah Eldred Bekok and Kampong Jawa Chaah, while PDM Chaah Timur was closed at 4pm.

“The turnout rate at Ladang Getah Eldred is 51 percent, Kampong Jawa Chaah is 49.7 percent and in Chaah Timur, it is only 40.65 percent.

“We believe the voters will come to cast their ballots in the evening. This is because there are those who need to work today,” said the agent.

Meanwhile, Kanan said that the EC had given them a notice earlier about a number of polling centres closing earlier.

However, he questioned if the EC had informed the voters about the early closure of the polling stations in certain areas.

“As far as I know, the voters were not informed.

“It means nothing if the notice was merely put up at the polling centre but the voters were not informed,” he said.

‘BN violated EC guidelines’

On a separate issue, Kanan claimed BN set up booths in front of almost every polling centre in the Bekok constituency today.

EC guidelines state that booths by political parties are banned during polling day.

Kanan pointed out that such booths were similarly banned in the recent Malacca snap polls and the Sarawak state election.

“BN’s action which violated the EC’s guidelines is extremely irresponsible and arrogant. Clearly, BN wants to take this opportunity to garner votes at the last second.

“Not only that, the team taking care of the booth were taking down voters’ information and only stopped doing so when my officers went there,” Kanan said.

As such, he urged the EC to take harsh action against any political parties who violated the guidelines on polling day. - Mkini