Two weeks to woo voters

PUTRAJAYA: Political parties and aspiring candidates will have 14 days to campaign, convince and woo voters to their side before polling takes place on Nov 19.

The 15th General Election will also see 117 state seats being contested alongside 222 parliamentary seats nationwide.

The campaign period will start right after the nomination of candidates has been concluded on Nov 5 and will end at midnight before polling day.

According to recent records, the Election Commission (EC) has set 12 days to 14 days for campaigns to be carried out during polls.

This is in line with EC rules where a minimum of 10 days must be given for parties and candidates to campaign.

During the Melaka and Sarawak state elections last year, the EC had set 12 days for campaigning.

A 14-day campaign period was set for Johor polls held earlier this year as well as for the Sabah election in 2020.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh, who announced the election dates for GE15, also said that early voting would take place on Nov 15.

He said the polls would also involve 42 seats in Pahang, 15 in Perlis and 59 in Perak.

The other seat is the Bugaya state seat in Sabah.

While the rest of the state seats in Sabah will not be involved in the election as the state had held polls two years ago, an election will be held to fill the vacancy in Bugaya which has been left vacant since the death of its assemblyman on Nov 17, 2020.

A by-election could not be held back then following the declaration of an Emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pakatan Harapan-led states of Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan as well as PAS-governed states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah did not dissolve their state assemblies.

“To carry out the election process, 222 returning officers have been appointed.

“The EC will also form a total of 625 election campaign enforcement teams comprising police, local authorities and representatives from the candidates,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

Ghani said applications for postal votes for those eligible will be Nov 2 for election workers and EC officers, police, the armed forces and media personnel.

Malaysians overseas have until Oct 23 to submit their postal vote applications while those under agency/organisation category have until Oct 26 to do so online.