KOTA KINABALU: All 242,294 postal voters, comprising 94,613 police and 147,681 armed forces personnel, will become advance voters by default in the coming polls, Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said.
This follows the implementation of a new regulation, which will be enforced for the first time during the 13th general election.
“Postal voting has caused much controversy as though the process was not transparent. We’ve discussed this with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform, and it was agreed that an advance voting system be introduced in the election.
“The advance voting process is similar to normal voting process in that it won’t use envelopes or bags; the only difference is the time and day of polling, which may be two or three days before the actual polling day,” he said after opening a special briefing to returning officers and district police chiefs, here yesterday.
The advance voting will allow members of the armed forces and police, and their spouses, to cast their votes early so that they do not need to do so on actual polling day, allowing them to carry out their duties as usual.
“Under the new regulation, those who qualified as postal voters can become advance voters. However, security personnel who are required to work on nomination day or polling day, especially those stationed at the borders, can be considered to cast their votes via the post.
“They can apply to do so by filling up Form 1. The approving authority is the returning officers of their respective polling centres,” he said.
Abdul Aziz also said that the EC would use indelible inks of different colours for the advance and ordinary voters to prevent any possibility of double voting.
“We will definitely use ink that stays longer for the advance voters. The public won’t know the colour or the type of bottles for the ink until a day before the voting process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sabah Deputy Commissioner of Police Datuk Tan Kok Liang said 8,000 personnel would be deployed throughout the state to maintain order during the election.
Police would also take proactive measures to ensure all personnel would be able to discharge their responsibility as advance voters, he said. — Bernama