SANDAKAN, May 11 — Supporters of candidates in the Sandakan parliamentary by-election have been advised not to act in any way that could disrupt public order when the results are announced later tonight.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said all parties should accept the results and respect the law.

"I urge all supporters and the candidates to accept the results and not to show dissatisfaction to the extent of disturbing the community. Respect the law,” he told a media conference at the vote-tallying centre at Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan Tiong Hua here.

Omar said polling went on smoothly until all polling stations were closed at 5pm.

"Police personnel, including on the roads, carried out their duties well to maintain security and there were no untoward incidents,” he said.

Asked on the seemingly lower voter turnout, Omar said this had nothing to do with the security situation.

"The voting process proceeded smoothly with the presence of so many police personnel who were deployed to maintain order throughout polling day,” he said.

The Election Commission said the voter turnout as at 4pm was 51 per cent.

Omar also said police had not received any report on a viral video which purportedly shows attempts by certain parties to bribe voters.

"This incident is believed to have happened at 12.06am; we will investigate and once completed we will refer the matter to the deputy public prosecutor’s office,” he said.

The by-election is a five-cornered fight involving Vivian Wong Shir Yee of DAP, Datuk Linda Tsen Thau Lin of PBS and three independents — Sulaiman Abdul Samat, Hamzah Abdullah and Chia Siew Yung. — Bernama