Polls open in pivotal Johor election

 

JOHOR POLLS | Polls in Johor have opened in a pivotal election that could determine the likely trajectory of the 15th general election.

Voting kicked off at 8am and the polling stations will stay open until 6pm.

It is an election of many firsts, including whether the Election Commission (EC) could cope with the surge of new voters following the implementation of the automatic voter registration (AVR) system and the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18.

There are a total of 2,597,742 eligible voters, an increase of 42.89 percent compared to the 1,817,999 electors in 2018.

However, the EC may not see its infrastructure fully tested as the turnout is expected to be low amid fears over rising Covid-19 cases.

An estimated 1,503,995 voted in 2018, representing a turnout of 87.23 percent.

The turnout for this election can't be directly compared to 2018 as it is no longer an apple-to-apple comparison due to the significant increase in new voters.

Apart from the expectation of a generally lower turnout, new voters who previously did not bother to register and are unlikely to vote even if they are automatically registered will further drag down the turnout.

For comparison, Malacca saw a turnout of 84.52 percent at the state level in 2018. The Malacca polls last November saw a turnout of 65.85 percent. This was before the implementation of AVR.

239 candidates, 56 seats

A total of 239 candidates are contesting in 56 seats. Twenty-nine seats are required for a simple majority and 38 for a supermajority.

Top political leaders, including those who are not contesting, are expected to be in Johor to cast their votes.

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is the Sembrong MP, will vote at Sekolah Agama Taman Sri Lambak at around 11am.

Former Johor Menteri Besar Mohammed Khaled Nordin, who is also the Umno vice-president, will cast his vote at SK Taman Rinting 1 in Pasir Gudang, the parliamentary seat he lost in 2018.

Another former Johor menteri besar Sahruddin Jamal will vote at SKJC Yu Jern within the state seat of Bukit Pasir, which he is defending.

Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong will be accompanied Muda president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman at SK Taman Sutera where the latter will vote.

It is located within the state seat of Perling where Liew is contesting. Liew will vote at Kolej Vokasional Kluang in the afternoon. It is within the state seat of Mengkibol.

Liew was formerly the Kluang MP where Mengkibol is one of the state seats. He was asked to contest in Perling in a last-minute move. - Mkini