Final voter turnout in Chini 74%, says EC

PEKAN (Bernama): The final voter turnout in the Chini state by-election is 74%, says the Election Commission (EC)

This comes after polling closed for the first by election since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier at 4pm, the EC announced that 72% of the 20,816 voters in the Chini state by-election have cast their ballots

This turnout exceeded the EC's target of 70%.

The voting process in 13 voting centres involving 65 channels, began at 8am on Saturday (July 4).

The Chini state by-election is a three-cornered fight between Barisan Nasional's (BN), Mohd Sharim Md Zain, 41, who is a Felda Chini second-generation settler, and two independent candidates, businessman Tengku Datuk Zainul Hisham Tengku Hussin, 64, and blogger Mohd Shukri Mohd Ramli, 49.

The by-election was held following the death of incumbent Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Harun, 60, at Kuala Lumpur Hospital due to a heart attack on May 7. Abu Bakar was Chini state assemblyman since the 11th General Election in 2004.

The Chini by-election is the 11th by-election after the 14th general election (GE14) and the first for the Perikatan Nasional government after taking over the country's administration from Pakatan Harapan in March.

The by-election is making history as the first election that takes place in the ‘new normal’ and involves various restrictions to avoid creating a ‘by-election cluster’.

Many new rules have to be followed, among them practising social distancing, the compulsory wearing of masks, as well as frequent hand-washing and temperature checks.

In GE14, Abu Bakar retained the Chini state seat with a majority of 4,622 votes, after securing 10,027 votes against PAS candidate Mohd Fadhil Noor Abdul Karim, who obtained 5,405 votes and PKR's Mohamad Razali Ithnain, with 1,065 votes. - Bernama