TAPAH, April 26 — As of 3pm today, 50.18 per cent of voters in the Ayer Kuning state by-election have cast their ballots, the Election Commission (EC) said.
All 19 polling centres, comprising 63 voting streams, were opened simultaneously at 8am to allow the 31,281 registered voters to exercise their right today.
Eighteen polling centres will remain open until 6pm, except for the centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Toh Tandewa Sakti, which is scheduled to close earlier at 4pm.
Checks by Bernama at several polling centres found that the voting process was proceeding smoothly so far under clear weather conditions.
EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun took time to observe the voting process at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Bidor at around 10.30am.Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, together with Perak Police Chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin, also observed the polling process at SMK Bidor and Sekolah Menengah Agama Daerah Batang Padang around 2pm.
The Ayer Kuning by-election was called following the death of incumbent Ishsam Shahruddin on February 22 due to a heart attack.
The by-election features a three-cornered fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir, Abd Muhaimin Malek of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) candidate Bawani KS. — Bernama
