JOHOR BAHRU ( WNAM MONITORING): The Election Commission (EC) has expressed satisfaction with the overall conduct of the 16th Johor state election, saying polling was carried out smoothly without any untoward incidents that could have affected the electoral process.
EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said registered voters had been able to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities during polling yesterday.
“The 16th Johor state election did not witness any untoward incidents that could have affected the electoral process,” he told a media conference after announcing the official results here early today.
Ramlan said voter turnout stood at 68.73 per cent, with 1,874,918 electors comprising early, postal and ordinary voters casting their ballots.
The EC also intends to continue its unofficial election results display and grandstand initiative after receiving positive feedback since it was introduced during the Kinabatangan by-election, he said.
Ramlan said the initiative enabled the public to obtain election results more quickly and transparently, as the unofficial results were based on Form 14, which was also shared with candidates’ agents.
However, Ramlan said the EC would continue to review the initiative from time to time should any issues arise, although it had so far proven beneficial to all parties.
Meanwhile, he said the EC would look into incidents involving individuals who uploaded photographs of marked ballot papers on social media to prevent similar occurrences in future elections.
Ramlan said the commission had taken note of several images circulating online but could not verify whether they had been taken inside polling stations.
“We have seen several photographs uploaded on social media. We are unable to confirm whether they were actually taken inside polling stations, and we will examine the matter in greater detail,” he said.
He added that EC regulations require voters to place their mobile phones in designated storage boxes before casting their ballots.
In the election, Barisan Nasional (BN) won 48 of the 56 state seats contested, while Pakatan Harapan (PH) secured the remaining eight.
