Sg Bakap polls: Scorching heat, low voter turnout in the afternoon

An empty voting lane at the SMK Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah polling station in Sungai Bakap, Penang.

NIBONG TEBAL: The scorching heat and low turnout at polling stations kept the traffic flowing smoothly all around Sungai Bakap.

As of 1 pm on Saturday (July 6), many stations recorded less than 20% to 30% turnout.

At 2:45 pm, the roads along the SK Sungai Duri polling station, which has 5,745 voters, were empty.

The SK Jawi polling station recorded a 31% turnout (430 out of 1355) voters as of 1pm.

Earlier in the morning, at 9:45 am, the Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah polling station had an 8% turnout.

Many elderly folks turned up before 8 am to cast their votes, and most of the young voters who turned up early were nurses and guards on their way home after their night shift.

The Sungai Bakap by-election polling day will end at 6pm.

Pakatan Harapan's candidate, Dr Joohari Ariffin and Perikatan Nasional’s Abidin Ismail are involved in a straight fight in the by-election, which was called following the death of assemblyman Nor Zamri Latiff from PAS on May 24 due to stomach inflammation.