PUTRAJAYA, The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling day for the Sungai Bakap state by-election in Penang on Saturday, July 6.
EC deputy chairman Dr Azmi Sharom said the nomination and early voting were set for June 22 (Saturday) and July 2 (Tuesday) respectively.
Dr Azmi announced this after chairing the EC special meeting at Menara SPR today.
The Sungai Bakap state seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Nor Zamri Latiff on May 24 at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Hospital Seberang Jaya (HSJ). The 56-year-old assemblyman was admitted to the hospital due to an inflammation of the stomach.
The Sungai Bakap by-election will be the eighth by-election held after the 15th General Election in November 2022.
Azmi said that the Electoral Roll to be used for the Sungai Bakap by-election is updated as of May 24.
‘The electoral roll for Sungai Bakap contains 39,279 voters, consisting of 39,222 regular voters and 57 police officers,” he said.
He said that the by-election would cost RM2.1 mi
llion, with 522 election workers to be appointed.
The by-election will have nine regular polling centres with 65 polling channels, and one early voting centre and channel.
The nomination process and official vote tallying centre will be at the Jawi Multipurpose Hall in Taman Desa Jawi, Penang.
Azmi said the campaign period is set for 14 days, starting from the declaration of candidates after the nomination on June 22 until 11:59 pm on July 5.
‘Two enforcement teams have been set up to monitor campaign activities throughout the campaign period,’ he said, adding that the teams comprise police personnel, as well as representatives from the local authority and contesting candidates.
According to Azmi, the application process for all categories of postal votes, both domestic and overseas, for the by-election will be open online starting today.
The closing date for applications is June 20 for Category 1A (election staff, SPR members/officers, police, military, and media personnel), June 13 for Category 1B (M
alaysian citizens residing abroad), and Category 1C (agencies/organisations).
To check information on polling centres, polling stations, and voter numbers, electors are advised to visit the portal at https://mysprsemak.spr.gov.my, use the MySPR Semak app, or contact the SPR hotline at 03-8892 7018/7218/7124, which will be open from June 18.
Meanwhile, Azmi also called on prospective candidates for the by-election to complete and pre-check their nomination forms with the Office of the Returning Officer involved or the Penang EC Office before the nomination day to ensure smooth running of their nomination process.
However, the nomination papers must be submitted by the candidate, their proposer or seconder on the nomination day at the designated nomination centre.
EC also invites any government agency, non-governmental organisation, or interested parties to become election observers to monitor the by-election process from the nomination day until the election results are announced.
‘They are allowed to obs
erve the process at the nomination centre, polling centres, and vote counting and tallying centre, but must comply with all appointment conditions set by the EC,’ he added.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
