NIBONG TEBAL: Registered voters in the Sungai Bakap state constituency will head to the polls on Saturday to elect a new assemblyman after a 14-day campaign period.
The by-election is a straight fight between Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Dr Joohari Ariffin and Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Abidin Ismail. It is being held following the death of incumbent Nor Zamri Latiff on May 24 due to stomach inflammation.
Sungai Bakap is one of three state assembly seats under the Nibong Tebal parliamentary constituency.
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According to the Election Commission (EC), 39,222 out of 39,279 registered voters are eligible to vote on Saturday (July 5). A total of 57 police personnel have voted by post, and no early voting centre was opened for the by-election, even though the date was set for July 2.
Of the total number of registered voters, the majority are aged 21 to 29, totalling 9,598 people. This is followed by 8,187 voters aged 30 to 39; 6,928 aged 40 to 49; 5,656 aged 50 to 59; 3,610 aged 60 to 69; 3,134 aged 18 to 20; 1,658 aged 70 to 79; and 508 aged 80 and above.
Of the two candidates, only Abidin will vote on Saturday at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Duri, as Joohari is a voter in the Sungai Acheh state constituency, which is also in the Nibong Tebal parliamentary constituency.
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During the voting process, which starts from 8am to 6pm on Saturday, a total of nine polling centres with 65 polling streams will be opened. The vote-tallying will take place at the Jawi Multipurpose Hall in Taman Desa Jawi.
The EC has assigned 552 workers to ensure the voting process runs smoothly, while the police have deployed more than 600 personnel to maintain security and manage traffic control.
The Sungai Bakap state seat was previously won by Nor Zamri, who was also the Nibong Tebal PAS chief, in the Penang State Election in August last year. He defeated PH candidate Nurhidayah Che Rose with a majority of 1,563 votes.
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Saturday's by-election is the eighth to be held since the 15th General Election. Previous by-elections included the Kuala Terengganu and Kemaman parliamentary by-elections (Terengganu); the Simpang Jeram state and Pulai parliamentary by-elections (Johor); the Pelangai state by-election (Pahang); the Jepak state by-election (Sarawak); and the Kuala Kubu Baharu state by-election (Selangor).
The Malaysian Meteorological Department has forecast rain in the morning, but fine weather is expected in the afternoon, with temperatures ranging from 26 to 33 degrees Celsius. - Bernama
