JOHOR BARU: The Election Commission (EC) has urged more than 2 million ordinary voters to head to the polls early and avoid waiting until the last minute with polling day for the 16th Johor state election just hours away.
EC secretary Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus said voters were encouraged to follow the recommended voting time stated in the MySPR Semak application to help ensure a smooth process.
"However, voters may still cast their ballots at any time between 8am and 6pm, or according to the gazetted operating hours of their respective polling centres," he said in a statement on Friday (July 10).
Khairul Shahril said the commission had completed inspections of all voting equipment on Thursday and Friday to ensure all materials were complete and in good condition before being distributed to the respective presiding officers.
He said a total of 43,036 election workers would be deployed at 1,076 polling centres to facilitate voting for 2,682,642 ordinary voters across Johor.
Voters have also been reminded to bring their identity cards for verification and to check their polling details beforehand through the official portals and applications.
"Voters are reminded not to hand over their identity cards to anyone other than authorised election officials," he said.
With the official campaign period ending at 11.59pm on Friday, Khairul Shahril reminded all candidates and political parties to immediately cease all forms of campaigning.
This includes canvassing for votes outside polling centres and on social media platforms.
He said political parties and candidates were also prohibited from operating campaign booths on polling day as it constituted an offence under the Election Offences Act 1954.
Khairul Shahril also reminded voters that mobile phones are not allowed inside polling streams. Those carrying mobile phones must place them at the designated area after receiving their ballot papers.
He added that voters, candidates and election workers were prohibited from wearing clothing or carrying materials bearing the names, logos, symbols or campaign slogans of any political party into polling centres.
"We hope all parties will comply with the election laws, regulations and ethics to ensure the polling process proceeds smoothly and public order is maintained," he said.
Khairul Shahril also called on employers to allow reasonable time for employees who are registered voters to fulfil their voting responsibilities under the law.
He added that official results for all 56 state constituencies would be announced after the completion of the official vote tallying process.
