JOHOR BAHRU: More than 3.6 million voters in Johor and Negeri Sembilan will be eligible to head to the ballot boxes on Jul 11 and Aug 1 respectively to cast their votes in the state polls, Malaysia’s Election Commission (EC) announced on Friday (Jun 12). At a media conference after chairing a special meeting on the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state polls, EC chairman Ramlan Harun said early voting in Johor would take place on Jul 7 while the one in Negeri Sembilan would be held on Jul 28. Johor’s election period will run for 14 days after the nomination of candidates on Jun 27. Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan’s election period will also run for 14 days with the nomination day set for Jul 18.
Johor has over 2.7 million eligible voters while Negeri Sembilan has close to 900,000 voters.Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi had announced the official dissolution of the state legislative assembly on Jun 1 while Negeri Sembilan’s was dissolved on Jun 5 after it was announced the night prior in a hastily arranged press conference by Chief Minister Aminuddin Harun.Analysts told CNA that while multiple parties are expected to contest in the two states, the main battle in both Johor and Negeri Sembilan is shaping up to be between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH), with voter turnout likely to be a decisive factor. “Both Johor and Negeri Sembilan are the only two states in the Peninsular where (opposition coalition) Perikatan Nasional is significantly weaker,” said political analyst Adib Zalkapli of Viewfinder Global Affairs.
