CHUKAI, Dec 2 ― The voter turnout at the Kemaman by-election stood at 42 per cent as of 1pm today, according to Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh.

All 49 polling stations have been open from 8am under sunny conditions in Kemaman, despite the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) forecasting rain in several areas throughout the day.

Abdul Ghani said the turnout trend for the by-election increased by around eight per cent every hour, with all streams recording the same momentum.

He had earlier targeted voter turnout to reach 70 per cent of the 141,043 registered voters, depending on the weather conditions.

There are a total of 141,790 eligible voters in the constituency, including 387 policemen, six military personnel and three of their spouses as well as 12 overseas voters.

All police and military personnel eligible to vote early have fulfilled their responsibility through postal ballots while three spouses of military personnel voted early at the Kijal Police Station on November 28.

The by-election sees a one-on-one clash between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor and Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar representing PAS. ― Bernama