Nenggiri Polls: Turnout Among Elderly, Young Voters Encouraging As Of 11 am - EC Chairman

GUA MUSANG, Aug 17 -- Turnout among the elderly and young voters in the Nenggiri by-election as of 11 am today was very encouraging, Election Commission (EC) chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said. 

He said the voting streams opened for the two groups showed a high turnout with the elderly taking the lead.

“Like always, the channels for the elderly and the young voters are busier in the morning, and may not be not so busy after 11 am,” he said after checking out the polling process at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Jeram Tekoh here today.

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The overall voter turnout for the Nenggiri by-election was 40.43 per cent as of 11 am, more encouraging than the overall voter turnout of 30 per cent as of 11 am recorded in the state election last August, he said.

“I do hope the voters who have yet to come out and cast their vote can do so as soon as possible because it might rain later in the afternoon,” he said.

Nenggiri has a total of 20,259 registered voters. At precisely 8 am, 20 polling centres with 46 channels were open simultaneously for voting, with closures scheduled progressively between 2 pm and 6 pm.

The Nenggiri by-election is seeing a one-on-one contest between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani representing the Unity Government and PAS candidate Mohd Rizwadi Ismail representing Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Regarding the flash flood which hit Kampung Serian Batu 11 last night, Ramlan said that the EC had sent boats to help the voters there as soon as they were informed about the situation by the returning officer for the by-election, Nik Raisnan Daud.

“The flood also affects the polling centre at Kampung Serian Batu 12. We have taken immediate action by sending boats to take the voters. So far, I was informed that the floodwater has receded and all is good,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramlan said the EC received only one report on a minor election offence under the Election Offenses Act 1954 involving campaign materials or posters that did not follow the rules.

-- BERNAMA