MELAKA: Early voting for the Melaka state polls recorded a turnout of 94.96%, with 9,417 security personnel and their spouses casting their ballots on Tuesday (Nov 10).
The Election Commission (EC) said the figure represented 9,417 of the 9,917 voters eligible to cast their ballots in person.
All 31 early voting centres across the state closed by 5pm, bringing the voting process to an end ahead of the Nov 14 polls.
The centres, which opened at 8am, closed in stages at noon, 2pm and 5pm, depending on their locations and the number of registered voters.
A total of 12,531 early voters were registered for the polls, comprising 9,769 military personnel and their spouses, and 2,762 police personnel and their spouses.
Of these, 9,917 were eligible to vote in person, while the remaining 2,614 were postal voters.
The 31 polling centres had a total of 50 polling streams to facilitate the voting process.
The voting process at several centres, including Kem Terendak in Sungai Udang and the Melaka police contingent headquarters in Bukit Beruang, was also reported to have proceeded smoothly.
A total of 687,697 registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the state election, which will see 79 candidates contesting 28 state seats on Saturday (Nov 14).
Pakatan Harapan is fielding the most candidates with 24, followed by Barisan Nasional (23), Parti Bersama Malaysia (16), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (seven), Perikatan Nasional (five), Parti Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (one) and three independents.
Of the 28 seats, 11 will see straight fights, another 11 three-cornered contests and six four-cornered battles.
In the 2021 Melaka state election, Barisan won 21 seats to form the state government, while Pakatan secured five and Perikatan two.
