KINABATANGAN, Jan 24 — A total of 12.54 per cent, or 6,056 voters, in the Kinabatangan parliamentary by-election had cast their ballots as of 9am today, according to the Election Commission (EC).
By constituency, Kuamut recorded the highest turnout at 14.61 per cent, followed by Sukau at 11.93 per cent and Lamag at 10.50 per cent.
All 36 polling centres, comprising 117 polling streams, opened at 7.30am, enabling 48,282 registered voters to exercise their right.
It said two centres will be closed at noon, with the remaining 34 closing in stages from 1 pm to 5.30pm.
The voting process is taking place under favourable weather conditions, and the EC is targeting a voter turnout of more than 65 per cent for the by-election.
The Kinabatangan parliamentary by-election is a three-cornered contest among Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar of Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman (Warisan) and Goldam Hamid (Independent).
Meanwhile, some 10.57 per cent, or 1,429 voters, have cast their ballots in the Lamag state by-election as of 9am.
Lamag led voter turnout with 21.79 per cent, followed by Balat (21.07 per cent), Buang Sayang (11.93 per cent), Bukit Garam (10.70 per cent), Kota Kinabatangan (9.57 per cent) and Usaha Jaya (7.23 per cent).
All nine polling centres, comprising 30 streams, opened at 7.30am this morning, allowing 13,515 registered voters to exercise their right to elect a new representative.
Polling centres will remain open until 5.30pm and will be closed in stages from 1 pm to 5.30 pm according to set voting times
Voting has so far proceeded under favourable weather conditions, with the EC targeting a turnout of over 65 per cent for the by-election.
The tallying of votes for both seats will take place at Dewan Sri Lamag, with official results expected to be announced at 10pm.
The Kinabatangan parliamentary by-election, which features a three-cornered contest between Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar (BN), Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman (Warisan) and Goldam Hamid (Independent), is held concurrently with Lamag state by-election, which sees a straight fight between Mohd Ismail Ayob of BN and Mazliwati Abdul Malek of Warisan.
Both by-elections were called following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, 66, on December 5 last year.
