Penangites turn up in force to vote

GEORGE TOWN: Voting has been generally smooth in Penang with thousands of voters showing up at voting centres for the first two hours of the voting period in what is shaping up to be one of the keenest electoral contests ever.

With multiple cornered fights in almost 80% of the 222 parliament and some 500 state seats up for grabs, campaigning for the past 11 days has been brisk and intense in some areas.

Besides voters, several candidates were also seen out casting their votes.

Among those spotted were PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who voted in Permatang Pauh where her eldest daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar is the candidate and DAP secretary – general Lim Guan Eng.

Lim told the media that he believed that his smartphone was spammed and he was not alone with former Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi texting to cite the same.

Their smartphones were either riddled with missed calls or constant calls from unknown foreign numbers.

The disabled and elderly were also seen at the polling centres with minor congestions detected in several schools on the island.

All parties contesting in the election have urged voters to exercise their democratic right and come out to vote.

In the last election, 11,257,147 voters or 84.84% of the 13,268,002 registered voters then had cast their ballots.

In Kedah, journalists have gathered to see the oldest candidate – the Pakatan Harapan chairperson Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed cast his vote at Sk Titi Gajah in Anal Bukit – the same polling centre he had been voting in since the 1980s.

He would then fly back to Langkawi to mingle with the voters before flying over to Kuala Lumpur later in the afternoon.

Tun Mahathir will then gather with Pakatan Harapan candidates at a location in Petaling Jaya, Selangor to await results and provide reactions.