EC expects 60% turnout in Nenggiri

Getting everything ready: Election workers from SPR making the final preparation for the Nenggiri by-election happening today. — Bernama

GUA MUSANG: About 60% of voters in the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan are expected to turn out today, according to the Election Commission (EC), a rate which could indicate a Perikatan Nasional victory, says a think tank.

A turnout higher than 61%, which was registered in the 2023 state election, could signal a win for Barisan Nasional, said Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE), which has studied and surveyed voter sentiments in almost every by-election since the 15th general election (GE15).

IDE senior programme manager Kamarulbahrin Zahid said based on voting trends in GE15 and the state election, Perikatan has been very effective at getting all its supporters to come out to vote.

“The turnout rate among Perikatan supporters is between 90% and 95% and Perikatan has been dominant in all of Nenggiri’s traditional villages,” said Kamarulbahrin, who has been conducting voter surveys in Nenggiri.

In comparison, Barisan and its lynchpin party, Umno has struggled to maintain the same level of support from its voters after they started working together with former arch-rival Pakatan Harapan in the unity government, he said.

“Umno working with DAP continues to haunt Umno supporters,” said Kamarulbahrin.

In fact, the issue is constantly played up by Perikatan leaders during their ceramah in Nenggiri that has been viewed by The Star.

A frequent slogan repeated in these ceramah is a “vote for Umno is a vote for the DAP”.

At the same time, the chances of a Barisan victory could increase if the coalition manages to get more Orang Asli voters to come out since the community has been solid Barisan supporters in the past, said Kamarulbahrin.

“In the last state election only about 58% of Orang Asli voters came out to vote. So if BN can get more of them to come out, it would give them an edge.”

Barisan Nasional’s Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani is taking on Mohd Rizwadi Ismail of Perikatan Nasional in the hopes of recapturing the seat which was its former stronghold.

Barisan lost Nenggiri to Perikatan by a margin of 810 votes in the 2023 state election.

There are 20,259 registered voters in the state constituency and results are expected at 9pm at the earliest, said EC secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak.

He said preparations for the voting process in all the 20 district polling centres are going smoothly and a total of 431 election workers have been appointed, Bernama reported.

“Two helicopters and 40 four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles will be used to transport the ballot boxes from the 20 polling stations to the vote-tallying centre,” he said, which will be held at the Gua Musang district council office complex.

Six polling centres will close early and Ikmalrudin urged all voters to double-check where they will cast their votes and to follow recommended voting times.

The by-election was called after Kelantan state assembly Speaker Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah declared the seat vacant after its incumbent Mohd Azizi Abu Naim ceased to be a member of Bersatu which is part of Perikatan.