'Pulai parliamentary by-election sees low voter turnout due to bad weather'

JOHOR BAHRU - The Pulai parliamentary by-election had a low voter turnout due to unfavourable weather conditions, said Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh.

He said that as of 1pm, only 29 per cent of voters had cast their ballots in Pulai, compared to 39 per cent in Simpang Jeram.

However, he said the voting process in both by-elections had been smooth and hoped that the target turnout of over 70 per cent would be achieved.

"Most voters who turned up this morning were in channels one, two and three, and younger individuals might take some extra time to cast their votes later in the afternoon,” he told a press conference after observing the voting process at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Taman Bukit Indah here today.

Abdul Ghani also urged eligible voters to fulfil their responsibilities as the weather in Pulai had improved after heavy rain around 9.30am.

Earlier, a check by Bernama found that voters, including those in SMK Taman Bukit Indah, braved the heavy rain with umbrellas to exercise their rights to vote.

A total of 205,810 voters are eligible to vote in the by-elections, including 165,509 in Pulai and 40,301 in Simpang Jeram.

There are 47 polling centres in the Pulai constituency and 14 polling centres with 68 channels in the Simpang Jeram constituency. - BERNAMA