BENTONG: A total of 16,383 registered voters in Pelangai will go to the polls today to elect their new state assemblyman.
When the clock strikes eight, nine polling centres with a total of 30 polling streams will be opened and will stay open until 6 pm, after which all ballot boxes will be taken to the official vote-tallying centre at Felda Kemasul community hall here where the counting of votes will take place.
The weather in the Bentong district was forecasted to be good in the morning, while thunderstorms were expected in the evening, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).
A total of 16,456 electors are eligible to vote in the by-election of the state seat, including 36 police personnel and three overseas absentee voters.
No early voting centre was opened for the by-election despite Oct 3 being gazetted as the early voting day, as the Election Commission had issued postal vote ballots to all 73 postal voters for the Pelangai by-election.
The Pelangai by-election is seeing a three-cornered fight between Barisan Nasional's (BN) Datuk Amizar Abu Adam, Kasim Samat of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and independent candidate Haslihelmy DM Zulhasni.
The by-election is being called for following the death of its incumbent Datuk Seri Johari Harun in a plane crash in Bandar Elmina, Shah Alam, Selangor, on Aug 17.
In the 15th General Election (GE15), Johari from BN, won with a majority of 4,048 votes, defeating Kasim (PN), Ahmed Wafiuddin of Pakatan Harapan, and Pejuang candidate Isa Ahmad.
The by-election for the Pelangai state seat is the fourth being held after the GE15 on Nov 19 last year.
The first three by-elections were held for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat on Aug 12, and for the Pulai parliamentary seat and Simpang Jeram state seat, which took place simultaneously on Sept 9.– BERNAMA