Hadi: Weekday polling date should not be an issue

KUANTAN: The May 9 polling date should not be an issue even though it is a weekday, said PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

He said it was the Election Commission's jurisdiction to set the polling date and the independent body should be given free rein to handle the general election.

"The date, month or time is not important. Even if the EC says the voting time is 3am, we must still come out to vote," said Abdul Hadi.

He said that it was important for voters to carry out their responsibility.

Abdul Hadi added that distance was also not an issue, citing the example of Turkish citizens working in Australia who travelled back to vote in their elections.

EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah announced Tuesday (April 10) that polling day will be on May 9, which is a Wednesday, while early voting for military and police personnel as well as voters living abroad has been fixed for May 5.

Nominations for the 222 parliamentary and 587 state seats (except for Sarawak, which held its state elections on May 7, 2016) have been set for April 28.