Ayer Kuning: The Election Commission (EC) is targeting a voter turnout of more than 70 per cent for the Ayer Kuning state by-election scheduled to take place this Saturday. EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun has urged voters to arrive early to perform their civic duty on April 26, citing concerns over recent erratic weather conditions.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, today marks the early voting phase where the EC aims for more than 90 per cent turnout among the 500 early voters. This group primarily consists of police officers, personnel, and their spouses. The early voting is being conducted at two polling centres: the Senior Officers’ Recreation Hall, 3rd Battalion of the General Operations Force (PGA) in Bidor, and the Anggerik Hall of Tapah district police headquarters (IPD) housing complex. Both centres opened at 8 am and the process has reportedly been smooth thus far.

As of 9 am, 22.8 per cent of early voters had cast their votes, as confirmed by Ramlan during a meeting with reporters at the Senior Officers’ Recreation Hall of Battalion 3, PGA. Additionally, all 24 early voters at the IPD Tapah location have reportedly completed their voting responsibilities.

The by-election was necessitated by the passing of the incumbent, Ishsam Shahruddin, who died of a heart attack on February 22. The election is a three-way contest featuring Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir, Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Abd Muhaimin Malek, and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) candidate Bawani KS.

The Ayer Kuning state constituency is home to 31,897 registered voters, which includes 31,315 ordinary voters and 582 police personnel along with their spouses.