KOTA KINABALU, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- A total of 61.72 per cent of the 24,426 early voters for the 17th Sabah State Election have cast their ballots as of 11 am today, said Election Commission (EC) chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun.
He also expects the voter turnout to reach 90 per cent when all 58 voting centres close at 5 pm, based on the trend so far.
"This is a high percentage. Thank you to all who could come early, and we hope this percentage will continue to increase until these early voting centres close at 5 pm,” he told a press conference at the Tawau Police Headquarters (IPD) voting centre today.
The Tawau IPD is one of the 58 early voting centres for the Sabah polls that were opened simultaneously at 8 am.
According to the EC, of the 24,426 eligible voters today, 11,697 are military personnel and their spouses, while 12,729 are police personnel and their spouses.
A Bernama survey at several early voting centres found that everything went smoothly despite rain in some areas.
At Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Pangkalan Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (RMN) Kota Kinabalu, Eastern Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Datuk Khir Junaidi Idris and his wife were among those who earliest to cast their ballots, while Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) Commander Datuk Victor Sanjos turned out to vote at the Lahad Datu IPD.
The candidates contesting in the polls this time continued to monitor the situation at the early voting centres, with Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Karambunai, Datuk Yakub Khan, visiting SK Pangkalan RMN, and Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for Sri Tanjung, Philip Yap Wui Lip, observing the goings on at the Tawau IPD.
When early voting is completed this afternoon, all ballot papers will be kept safely before they are brought out for vote tallying on polling day on Saturday (Nov 29).
All candidates have three days left for campaigning to win over the hearts of the 1.76 million registered voters ahead of polling day on Saturday.
This state election sees 596 candidates contesting 73 seats, including 74 independents.
For the latest news on the state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php.
-- BERNAMA
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