Johor Polls: 2.7 Million Voters Choose Their Representatives Today
JOHOR BAHRU: Johor today becomes the focus of the entire nation as more than 2.7 million eligible voters will cast their ballots in the 16th State Election to choose their representatives.
At precisely 8 am, a total of 1,076 polling centres involving 4,889 channels were opened simultaneously to enable the people of this state to determine a new mandate in 56 State Legislative Assembly constituencies following the end of the 14-day campaign period, midnight last night.
The polling centres will be closed in stages starting from 11 am to 6 pm this evening according to location, before the vote counting process begins.
Among the polling centres scheduled to close early are Pulau Besar at 11 am, followed by Pulau Aur and Pulau Pemanggil at 12 noon.
To ensure the polling process runs smoothly and orderly, the Election Commission (EC) has deployed 43,036 officers throughout the state, while 24,677 postal ballot papers that have been issued must be received before 6 pm this evening.
The EC has targeted a voter turnout of approximately 70 per cent, with full results expected to be known as early as 10 pm tonight.
The voter turnout during the 15th Johor State Election in 2022 was 54.92 per cent.
Meanwhile, employers have been reminded to give reasonable time off to employees to go out and vote today.
On Tuesday, a total of 20,607 early voters consisting of police and military personnel, along with their spouses, completed their voting duty.
Based on the Malaysian Meteorological Department’s website yesterday, rain is forecast in the districts of Johor Bahru, Batu Pahat, Kulai, Muar, Pontian and Tangkak in the morning, while the weather is expected to be fine in the afternoon and evening.
The districts of Kluang, Kota Tinggi and Segamat are expected to experience thunderstorms in the afternoon, while similar conditions are forecast to hit Mersing from the afternoon until night.
This Johor state election sees a contest involving 172 candidates, with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) each fielding 56 candidates, followed by Perikatan Nasional (PN) (33), Parti Bersama Malaysia (15), Parti Ikatan Demokratik Malaysia (MUDA) (four), as well as Parti Orang Asli Malaysia and Parti Sosialis Malaysia with one candidate each, in addition to six Independent candidates.
Before the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on June 1, BN controlled 40 seats, followed by PH (12), PN (three), while MUDA held one seat.
For the latest news on the 16th Johor State Election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/johor.
BERNAMA