Melaka polls: Serkam leads turnout as 34.28pc vote by 11.30am

MELAKA, Nov 14 — More than three in every 10 ordinary voters in the Melaka state election had voted by 11.30am today, according to the Election Commission (EC).

The EC’s real-time Voter Turnout Monitoring (VTO) dashboard put turnout at 34.28 per cent at that hour, or 229,405 voters.

Serkam recorded the highest turnout among the 28 state seats, at 38.55 per cent, while Kesidang had the lowest, at 29.88 per cent.

The EC is aiming for a 70 per cent turnout in the election, in which 79 candidates are contesting 28 seats.

Polling began at 8am and is due to close at 6pm, with 669,211 ordinary voters eligible to cast their ballots.

Early voting for 12,531 security personnel and their spouses took place on November 10, and those votes are not part of the ordinary-voter figure.

MetMalaysia had forecast cloudy skies in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon across all three districts in Melaka on polling day today.

Party leaders and candidates have urged voters to head out early because of the forecast.

Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi advised voters on November 11 to vote in the morning in case of heavy rain around midday or in the afternoon.

After voting at SK Jeram in Tanjung Bidara earlier this morning, caretaker chief minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh, who is also Melaka BN chief, said preparations had been made to help voters if wet weather affected polling.