Johor bahru: A total of 94.49 per cent of early voters for the 16th Johor State Election fulfilled their voting obligations today. Election Commission (EC) Secretary Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus said the figure involved 19,471 voters, comprising military personnel and their spouses, as well as police personnel, including those from the General Operations Force (PGA), and their spouses.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Khairul Shahril Idrus stated that a total of 7,960 military and PGA personnel and their spouses cast their early votes today. The voting process, which began at 8 am, involved 62 early voting centres across the state, with the centres closing in stages between noon and 5 pm. He detailed that 29 voting centres closed at noon, five centres at 2 pm, while the remaining 28 centres closed at 5 pm.

In the same statement, Khairul Shahril congratulated all Returning Officers and their teams for successfully managing the voting process smoothly and efficiently. The EC also expressed its appreciation to the Johor State Secretary's Office, the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Armed Forces, media personnel, and all parties who provided cooperation and support throughout the process.

All early voting ballot boxes will be kept at police stations until the official vote-tallying process on polling day this Saturday. Overall, the 16th Johor State Election sees 172 candidates contesting 56 state seats.