PUTRAJAYA, Oct 20 — Malaysians will vote in the 15th general election on November 19, the Election Commission (EC) announced this afternoon.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh added that early polling will be held on November 15, while nomination day will be on November 5, providing two weeks for official election campaigning.

Early polling will be held on November 15, while nomination day will be on November 5, providing two weeks for official election campaigning.

Both the polling and nomination dates will fall on a

Saturday.

Perak, Perlis and Pahang will hold elections at the state level simultaneously. The three states were helmed by Barisan Nasional.

Pahang, Perlis and Perak have 42, 15 and 59 seats in their respective legislatures.

States where rival coalition Pakatan Harapan control — Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan — will only hold elections when the 14th term expires next year.

PH leaders said the decision was made to allow

the respective state governments to focus on their preparations for the annual monsoon floods.

Melaka, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak had already held elections separately. In Sabah, however, there will be a by-election for the Bugaya state seat, to be held on the same day as the Federal elections.

The seat was made vacant following the death of its incumbent, Manis Muka Mohd Dara, in November 2020.

No vote was held because of the Emergency Proclamation meant to stem the spread of Covid-19. The proclamation has since rescinded.

All 222 parliamentary seats will be contested.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said the regulator will deploy over 360,000 staff nationwide amid expectations that some parts of the country will be hit by erratic weather and floods.

Each of the 222 seats will be managed by one election manager. There will be 625 teams formed for enforcement and monitoring.

"This general election and the by-election in Sabah is expected to cost RM1.01 billion," he said at the press conference here.