Johor polls open with clear skies across most areas, but heavy rain dampens Muar

JOHOR BAHRU, July 11 — Polling for the 16th Johor State Election began this morning under generally favourable weather conditions, with clear skies reported in most areas except for Muar, which experienced heavy rain from the early hours.

A Bernama check at several polling centres found Election Commission (EC) officials, security personnel and media practitioners on site as early as 7am.

At Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Pantai, Mersing, clear skies greeted voters, including persons with disabilities and senior citizens who were among the earliest to arrive at the polling centre.

Similar weather conditions were reported at Dewan Raya Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor Bahru; Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Senggarang, Batu Pahat; and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Kulai.

However, heavy rain since early morning did not deter voters from turning up at polling centres, including SJKC Limbong and Sekolah Kebangsaan Ismail 1, to exercise their right to vote.

More than 2.7 million voters will cast their ballots today to elect representatives for the 56 state seats contested by 172 candidates at 1,076 polling centres across Johor.

Voting began at 8 am, with polling stations closing at different times as set by the EC, followed by vote counting immediately after polling ended.

Prior to the dissolution of the state legislative assembly on June 1, Barisan Nasional (BN) held 40 seats, followed by Pakatan Harapan (PH) with 12, Perikatan Nasional (PN) with three and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) with one.

For the latest updates on the 16th Johor state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/johor.  — Bernama