JASIN: The Election Commission (EC) is targeting a voter turnout of at least 70% in the state polls, with results expected around midnight.
EC deputy chairman Dr Azmi Sharom said the commission hoped for strong participation as the polls involved the entire state rather than a single constituency.
“We are hoping for a 70% turnout as this is a state election, not a by-election.
“We hope as many voters as possible will turn out to vote,” he told reporters after inspecting final polling preparations at Politeknik Merlimau yesterday.
On the possibility of rain, Azmi urged voters to arrive early and bring umbrellas if necessary.
“Come out and vote even if it rains. Whatever happens, the most important thing is to vote,” he said.
Azmi also encouraged voters to check their polling centres and voting streams through the MySPR Semak platform before heading out to help prevent confusion and delays.
“If you have access to MySPR, please check your polling centre and voting stream before coming.
“If you are unsure or do not have Internet access, you can come early and check with our election workers at the information booths outside the polling centres,” he said.
On the expected announcement of the full results, Azmi said it would be difficult to predict the exact timing as this would depend on the arrival of ballot boxes at the official vote-tallying centres and weather conditions.
“Anything can happen and we cannot predict the weather, including the possibility of rain or flooding. However, we generally expect the results to be known before midnight,” he added.
According to Azmi, the EC would use its Optical Character Recognition-Voters Attendance (OCR-VA) system to provide real-time voter turnout information.
He said the system allowed the public, political analysts and other interested parties to monitor turnout through the commission’s website without having to wait for hourly updates.
“Previously, we had to wait for updates every hour. Now, you can get the figures in real time.
“This is useful data not only for us but also for political analysts and anyone interested in the election,” he said.
He assured voters that the system would not compromise ballot secrecy or significantly affect the time needed to cast their ballots.
