Johor voters head to polling stations today to decide the state’s political future, as 2.7 million registered voters cast their ballots to elect representatives for the 56 seats in the state legislative assembly.
Polling begins at 8 am across 1,076 polling centres, marking the culmination of a two-week campaign that started on June 27. A total of 172 candidates are contesting the election, significantly fewer than the 239 candidates fielded in the previous state election.
The Election Commission (EC) expects the full results to be known as early as 10 pm.
Voting day marks final stage of campaign
During the campaign period, political parties presented their manifestos and policy proposals while focusing on issues such as the cost of living, economic recovery, job creation and public welfare in an effort to win voter support.
The final campaign push gathered momentum on the eve of polling with the presence of the Prime Minister, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman, and the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Barisan Nasional chairman, at campaign events.
The responsibility now shifts to voters, who will determine Johor’s leadership and direction for the next five years.
EC expects around 70 percent turnout
The EC projects voter turnout to reach about 70 percent, citing strong public interest throughout the campaign period and growing awareness of the importance of participating in the electoral process.
According to the EC chairman, polling centres will close at different times depending on their locations. The earliest polling centre, located on Pulau Besar near Mersing, will close at 11 am.
Polling on Pulau Aur and Pulau Pemanggil will end at noon, while 17 centres will close at 2 pm, 42 centres at 4 pm, and the majority of polling centres at 6 pm.
A total of 43,036 election workers have been deployed to manage the voting process. Meanwhile, 24,677 postal ballot papers have been issued and must reach the EC before 6 pm.
Early voting completed, 172 candidates contest 56 seats
An important stage of the election concluded last Tuesday with early voting involving 20,607 members of the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Royal Malaysia Police, the General Operations Force and their spouses.
The EC also said logistical preparations, including the transportation of ballot boxes from island polling locations, have been carefully planned with contingency measures in place through cooperation with the police and the Malaysian Armed Forces.
This election features 172 candidates contesting the 56 state seats. Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional are contesting all 56 seats, while Perikatan Nasional is fielding 33 candidates.
Parti Bersama Malaysia is contesting 15 seats, the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance is fielding four candidates, while Parti Orang Asli Malaysia and Parti Sosialis Malaysia are each contesting one seat. Six Independent candidates are also in the race.
