CAMERON HIGHLANDS: The Election Commission (EC) is all geared up for the Cameron Highlands by-election with preparations at an optimum.
Its chairman Azhar Azizan Harun said a total of 118 personnel from the commission are on standby to carry out their day long tasks and all technical preparations are going well.
“All EC members and personnel were present at the briefing today, including police escort and they provided good cooperation in ensuring that the election process will be carried out tomorrow in a 100 per cent manner without any problems,” he said.
Azhar was speaking to reporters after a briefing session on the preparations for the by-election at the vote tallying centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sultan Ahmad Shah's Dewan Gemilang in Tanah Rata, here, today.
On transportation and logistics preparations, Azhar said a total of three helicopters, two from the EC and one from the police would be used to transport ballot boxes from the interiors of the constituency which are faced with transportation difficulties.
Azhar meanwhile expects the voter turnout to be around 70 per cent and the outcome of the by-election is expected to be known before or the latest by 10pm tomorrow.
“I would like to advice all voters to come out early to vote and it is the task of political parties and candidates to encourage their supporters to come out to vote early."
In a related matter, Azhar said the EC has received eight reports from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and 29 police reports comprising various electoral offences under the Electoral Offences Act 1954.
“This includes offences involving the use of government vehicles for election campaign purposes, reports of vote buying, reports of election graft and reports on posters containing sensitive issues,” he said.
The Cameron Highlands by-election will see 32,009 registered voters eligible to cast their ballot papers including 247 early voters, 12 absentee voters and 385 disabled voters.
A total of 29 voting centres will be opened in the constituency; 17 in Tanah Rata and 12 in Jelai from 8am onwards and will be closed at staggered times between 2pm and 5.30pm.
The candidates contesting in the by-election are DAP's M. Manogaran for Pakatan Harapan (PH), Ramli Md Nor for Barisan Nasional (BN) as well as two Independent candidates Sallehudin Ab Talib and Wong Seng Yee.
The Cameron Highlands by-election is the fifth to be called after the 14th General Election (GE14) following a decision by the Election Court to nullify BN candidate, Datuk C. Sivarrajh’s win.
The court had ruled that during the election, there were elements of bribery involved in a bid to sway voters in the area.
Sivarraajh, who faced a five-corner fight in GE14, won the seat with 10,307 votes, while Manogaran garnered 9,710.
PAS candidate Wan Mahadir Wan Mahmud polled 3,587 votes, Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) B Suresh Kumar (680), and Berjasa candidate Mohd Tahir Kassim (81).
