MELAKA: Melaka voters are ready to face the upcoming state election on Nov 20 under the new norms.
Despite the situation differing vastly from the 14th general election, voters said they accept the Election Commission (EC) announcement.
They knew that it was bound to happen following the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly early this month.
Mohd Zaki Abu Bakar, 37, said he had expected the state election after the assembly was dissolved because of the political crisis.
"However, I did not expect it to happen so soon. I thought next year, at the moment, maybe maintaining the caretaker government, or that an emergency would be declared.
"Even though the state election will take place while the country is transiting from the pandemic to endemic stage, I am confident that the Health Ministry and National Security Council and EC will come up with a set of strict standard operating procedures (SOP) after taking account into what had happened after the Sabah election last year.
"As the rakyat, all we want is a smooth and safe state election. We do not want to see new clusters emerge after the election because fully vaccinated people can still get infected," he said.
Trader Norizam Aziz, 47, said as a responsible citizen, he would cast his vote along with other family members who are also registered voters.
"Of course, I am worried about the situation, but I must exercise my right as a voter because that will decide who will be the state government for the next five years."
Ex-soldier Abd Razak Abd Karim, 62, also accepted the EC announcement and was confident that the SOP could protect voters from being infected.
"Everyone must be extra vigilant, wear a facemask, observe physical distancing and use hand sanitiser when it is needed.
Mohd Jonid Hitam, 83, is hopeful that the state election would take place safely without new Covid-19 cases.
"Comprehensive guidelines such as limiting campaigning hours and the total number of people at gatherings must be put in place to prevent infections."
Earlier today, EC chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh announced that the Melaka election would be held on Nov 20 following the dissolution of the state assembly on Oct 4.
He said nomination day would be on Nov 8, early voting on Nov 16 and a 12-day campaigning would be allowed.
