General

POLLING FOR PULAI, SIMPANG JERAM BY-ELECTIONS ON SEPT 9 – EC

The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling for the by-elections for Pulai parliamentary seat and Simpang Jeram state seat in Johor on Sept 9.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said the nomination and early voting for the two by-elections were also set on Aug 26 and Sept 5, respectively.

He said this at a press conference after chairing the EC’s special meeting on the by-elections here today.

The by-elections are being called due to the unexpected vacancy of the seats following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub on July 23.

Salahuddin, 61, who was the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, died at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar, Kedah, a day after undergoing surgery for a brain haemorrhage.

He was 61.

Abdul Ghani said the electoral roll to be used for the by-elections is the latest supplementary electoral roll updated as of July 23.

“The electoral roll for Pulai parliamentary constituency contains the names of 166,653 electors, comprising 165,700 normal electors, 927 police personnel and 26 who were registered as absentee voters, while the electoral roll for Simpang Jeram state seat contains the names of 40,379 electors comprising 40,373 normal electors and six absentee voters,” he said.

Abdul Ghani said the application for all categories of postal and absent voters will open from today.

The deadline for the application is Aug 22 for category 1A (election worker/ EC officers/ police/ military/ media personnel); Aug 12 for category 1B (Malaysian citizens abroad); and Aug 15 for category 1C (agency/ organisation).

“Application for postal voting for all those categories will be done online,” he said.

Abdul Ghani said that Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim will serve as the election nomination centre (PPC) and the official vote tallying centre (PPRU) for the Pulai parliamentary seat and Simpang Jeram state seat by-elections.

He said that the EC had appointed a returning officer with five assistants to oversee the Pulai parliamentary by-election process, while a returning officer with three assistants will be in charge of the Simpang Jeram state seat by-election.

He added that two election campaign enforcement teams (PP-KPR) will be established, to monitor campaigning activities throughout the Pulai parliamentary by-election, and one PP-KPR for the Simpang Jeram state seat by-election.

The PP-KPR will comprise representatives from the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), local authorities (PBT) and representatives of the contesting candidates, he said.

A total of 2,692 personnel will be appointed to handle the Pulai Parliamentary by-election process, and 678 personnel to handle the Simpang Jeram state seat by-election process.

Abdul Ghani said that the Pulai Parliamentary by-election will involve 49 voting centres with 297 polling streams – 47 regular voting centres with 294 polling streams – and two early voting centres containing three polling streams.

The Simpang Jeram state seat by-election involves 14 regular voting centres with 68 polling streams and no early voting centre.

Voters can check their polling location and voting channels from Aug 21 at https://mysprsemak.spr.gov.my, or MySPR Semak application or SPR hotline at 03-8892 7018/ 7218/ 7124.

Abdul Ghani also called on prospective candidates in the two by-elections to fill in the nomination form and do an initial check with the office of the returning officer or the Johor Election Office before the candidate nomination day, to facilitate the candidate nomination process.

“Prospective candidates are encouraged to make deposit payments early, in order to ensure that all candidate nomination processes can be completed early, and run smoothly,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency