KUALA LUMPUR: More than 20 million voters are heading to the polls in the general election today to elect representatives for their respective constituencies for the next five years.
Also held today is voting for the Bugaya state by-election in Sabah, which was postponed following the proclamation of an emergency to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
Polling stations in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan opened at 7.30am, and those in Peninsular Malaysia at 8am.
According to the Election Commission (EC) website, polling stations in Peninsular Malaysia will close in stages between noon and 6pm.
However, there are polling stations that will close earlier, including a polling centre at Balai Raya Pulau Besar in Mersing, Johor, which will close at 11am.
In Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, polling stations will close between 11am and 5.30pm.
According to an EC statement issued on Oct 20, there are 8,958 ordinary voting centres, comprising 38,348 polling stations, throughout the country.
The electoral roll used for GE15 contains a total of 21,173,638 voters. Of this number, 20,905,366 are ordinary voters, 146,737 military personnel and their spouses, 118,794 police personnel and their spouses, including those from the General Operations Force (GOF) and their spouses, and 2,741 are absentee voters abroad.
A total of 1,393,549 voters aged 18 to 20 will cast their ballots for the first time, following the implementation of Undi 18.
Early voting took place on Tuesday, which saw a 94.72% turnout, with 212,961 voters, involving security personnel and spouses, performing their responsibilities.
The EC has set the election for Padang Serai parliamentary seat for Dec 7 following the death of incumbent cum Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate M Karupaiya last Wednesday.
EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said in a statement yesterday that fresh nominations for the constituency will be held on Nov 24 and early voting on Dec 3.
After nominations on Nov 5, a total of 945 candidates were confirmed eligible to contest the 222 parliamentary seats nationwide, the highest in the country’s election history.
Following the decision to hold the Padang Serai parliamentary seat election separately, a total of 939 candidates will vie for 221 parliamentary seats.
Karupaiya, 69, was set to defend the seat in a six-cornered clash against Hamzah Abd Rahman (Pejuang-Putra), C Sivaraajh (Barisan Nasional-MIC), Bakhri Hashim (Warisan), Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional-Bersatu) and independent candidate Sreanandha Rao.
Meanwhile, a total of 441 candidates are contesting 117 state seats in Perak, Pahang, Perlis, and in the Bugaya state seat in Sabah.
To reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said voters who tested positive for Covid-19 should report their health status in their respective MySejahtera applications, to be informed about the voting guidelines.
They are also required to wear face masks and are not allowed to ride in public vehicles including e-hailing. The use of face masks for other voters is highly encouraged.
The EC said that the use of mobile phones at polling stations (channels) is disallowed. It said that voters are required to leave their phones at designated areas after receiving their ballot papers, and retrieve them after voting.
Notices and posters prohibiting the use of mobile phones will be on display, outside and inside the polling stations. - FMT
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