GUA MUSANG – With six more hours before voting closes, about half the number of registered voters in the Nenggiri by-election have cast their ballots as of noon.
Voter turnout was 51.03% as of 12pm today, Election Commission (EC) chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said.
The state seat in Kelantan with 20,259 registered voters saw a strong turnout in the morning from the elderly and the youth, he added
“As always, the voting streams for the elderly and the young voters are busier in the morning, and may not be not so busy after 11am,” Bernama reported him saying after a visit to observe the polling process at SK Jeram Tekoh here, today.
At 8am earlier, the EC opened 20 polling stations with 47 streams for the by-election.
Of the 20, six will close early due to the smaller number of voters. Polling stations at Dewan Orang Ramai Pos Simpor and SK Pulat will close at 3pm while the ones at SK Tohoi, Pusat Pendidikan Komuniti Pos Gob, SK Sri Permai and SK Kuala Sungai will close at 2pm.
Polling for other stations will officially close at 6pm.
Results, which will be announced at the vote tallying centre at the Gua Musang District Council building, are expected at 9pm at the earliest.
The Nenggiri by-election was called following the vacancy of the seat, as announced by Kelantan Assembly Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah on June 19, after the former incumbent Mohd Azizi Abu Naim lost his Bersatu membership on June 13.
In the state elections in August last year, Azizi, who contested using a PAS logo, defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Ab Aziz Yusoff with a majority of 810 votes.
This by-election is a straight fight between Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani from Umno-BN, representing the unity government, and PAS candidate Mohd Rizwadi Ismail representing Perikatan Nasional. – August 17, 2024