Early voting for the 16th Johor state election got underway today, with 24,751 members of the security forces and their spouses casting their ballots at 64 polling centres across the state ahead of polling day on Saturday.
According to the Election Commission (EC), the early voting exercise involves 12,041 members of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and their spouses at 11 polling centres, while 12,710 Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) personnel, General Operations Force (GOF) members and their spouses are voting at another 53 centres.
For police personnel, 12,067 voters are casting their ballots in person, while 643 are voting by post.
Polling centres opened simultaneously at 8am and will close in stages between noon and 6pm depending on the number of registered voters and locations. Smaller centres, including Balai Polis Tenang in the Tenang state constituency with six voters and Balai Polis Bukit Besar in Pasir Raja with 11 voters, are expected to close as early as noon.
To ensure a smooth voting process, PDRM has deployed 3,565 personnel comprising 647 officers, 2,806 rank-and-file personnel and 112 civil servants. Their duties include securing polling stations, escorting ballot boxes, traffic management, crime prevention patrols, operations room monitoring, surveillance of strategic locations and law enforcement.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim extended his wishes to early voters, urging them to fulfil their civic responsibility. In a Facebook post, he said, “Happy voting to all early voters in the Johor state election. Do your best for this state. Choose Harapan candidates for a better future for Johor. Vote Harapan.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called on security personnel to vote responsibly and choose the best option to ensure stability, progress and the future of Johor.
All early ballot boxes will be kept at designated police stations and will only be opened for counting after ordinary voting concludes on Saturday.
The Johor election features 172 candidates contesting 56 state seats, with about 2.7 million registered voters expected to cast their ballots on polling day this Saturday.
