KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — With the nomination process for state elections in six states involving 173 nomination centres due tomorrow, checks by Bernama at several centres today found that preparations were almost done.
In Selangor, a simulation session of the nomination process was part of the final preparations by Election Commission (EC) officials.
This included organising the positions of potential candidates, proposers and officials in the hall according to the prescribed procedure as well as the process of reviewing forms, documents and insolvency status which would then be submitted to the returning officer.
The returning officer for the Bukit Melawati, Ijok and Jeram state seats, Mohamad Yusli Askandar, said his team was fully prepared to handle the candidate nomination process tomorrow.
Met at the Kuala Selangor Indoor Stadium nomination centre today, Mohamad Yusli said 100 staff would be involved in the process tomorrow, assisted by personnel from the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and members of the People’s Volunteers Corps (RELA) who will maintain security and smooth-running of the process.
He also advised potential candidates as well as proposers and supporters to arrive early, for fear of congestion in the area outside the hall.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Selangor EC Office when contacted by Bernama said a total of 656 nomination forms had been sold since July 5.
In Penang, the returning officer for the Permatang Berangan state seat, Rahim Selamat, said EC staff conducted simulations twice at Dewan Perdana of the Seberang Perai Utara Mara Skills Institute to ensure a smooth-running process tomorrow.
“This place will involve the process of nominating candidates for the Permatang Berangan, Sungai Dua and Telok Ayer Tawar state seats, and the preparations so far are very satisfactory.
“We are also working with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to ensure everything runs well tomorrow,” he said.
Meanwhile, checks done at Dewan Datuk Haji Ahmad Badawi for the nomination process for the Sungai Puyu state seat found everything was going according to plan.
This included the arrangement of chairs and tables as well as notices put up in the hall.
In Negeri Sembilan, the returning officer for the Bukit Kepayang state seat, Mohd Nizam Tajul Arus, said a simulation exercise was carried out at the nomination centre at the Seremban District Administration Complex, this morning.
He said to ensure the smooth running of the process tomorrow, each candidate could only be accompanied by one proposer and supporter to enter the nomination centre.
“Supporters of the contesting parties must remain 50 metres away from the nomination centre with the authorities also present for control,” he said, adding that 36 candidate nomination centres would be opened in the state tomorrow.
The candidate nomination process tomorrow for the six upcoming state elections will last for one hour beginning at 9am.
The EC has set August 12 as polling day for the elections in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu, while early voting will be on August 8. — Bernama
