MERLIMAU – More than 200 voters gathered and queued outside Sekolah Kebangsaan Merlimau 1 as early as 7.30am today, ahead of the polling centre’s scheduled opening at 8am for the 16th Melaka state election.
The early turnout saw voters arriving at the polling centre to cast their ballots in the closely watched Merlimau state constituency, where incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh is defending his seat against Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Rahayu Hamzah of Amanah.
Dr Akmal, who is also Umno Youth chief, is seeking another term after securing a convincing victory in the 2021 Melaka state election.
He won the seat with 5,633 votes and a majority of 3,248 in a three-cornered contest involving candidates from PH and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
The Merlimau contest is among the 28 state constituencies being contested in today’s election, with voters deciding who will represent them in the next Melaka State Legislative Assembly.
A total of 240 polling centres involving 1,213 voting channels opened across the state at 8am, allowing 687,697 registered voters to cast their ballots.
The election features 79 candidates, with PH fielding the highest number at 24, followed by BN with 23 candidates.
Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) is contesting 16 seats, while Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is fielding seven candidates and PN five.
Three independent candidates are also contesting, alongside one candidate from Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra).
A coalition needs to secure at least 15 of the 28 seats to obtain a simple majority and form the next state government.
The election follows the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on Sept 23, with nomination day held on Oct 31 and early voting conducted on Nov 10.
In the previous state election in 2021, BN secured a dominant 21 seats, while PH won five and PN obtained two.