Melaka polls: Ab Rauf confident voters ready to make their choice

The Election Commission (EC) is aiming for a 70 per cent voter turnout in the upcoming Melaka election, which is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Dr Azmi Sharom, the deputy chairman of the EC, expressed hope that the public would show significant interest in participating in the voting process, as this is a state election rather than a by-election.

Azmi advised voters to arrive early at the polling centers or bring an umbrella in case of rain, which is forecasted in some areas for tomorrow. Despite the potential rain, Azmi emphasized that what matters most is people casting their votes, and urged them to do so regardless of the weather conditions. He reiterated this sentiment after inspecting the polling preparations at Dewan Platinum, Politeknik Melaka, for the Merlimau constituency in the Melaka district.

Dr Azmi also shared details about the Optical Character Recognition-Voter Attendance (OCR-VA) system that the EC will continue to employ for real-time collection and display of voter attendance data. This system allows the public, political analysts, and other interested parties to access up-to-date information on the number of voters who have turned up at polling centers.

Previously, voter turnout figures were updated hourly, but with the OCR-VA system, the information is accessible in real time. The system is described as user-friendly and relatively straightforward, and Azmi stated that it would not affect the voting time or the secrecy of voters' ballots. He assured that the use of OCR-VA is part of the EC's efforts to modernize the country's voting system, and that it does not compromise ballot secrecy in any way.

Voters were reminded to check their polling centers and voting streams through the MySPR portal before heading out to vote. This would help them complete the voting process more smoothly upon arrival at their polling centers and avoid confusion over where they should cast their ballots. For those without internet access, voters could check their details at the counters provided at polling centers.