KINABATANGAN, Jan 24 — Up to 15,943 voters or 33 per cent of the electorate had cast their ballots in the Kinabatangan parliamentary by-election as of 11am today, said Election Commission (EC) chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun.

He said turnout for the Lamag state by-election stood at 30 per cent, with 4,042 voters having cast their ballots during the same period.

Ramlan said the relatively low turnout so far was partly due to voters who are currently outside the parliamentary and state constituencies.

He said it was also lower than the 17th Sabah state election held in November last year over the same time frame.

“I hope voters will take this opportunity to come out and vote in greater numbers,” he told reporters after observing the polling process at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Garam II here today.

Ramlan said the voting at all polling centres was proceeding smoothly.

A total of 36 polling centres, comprising 117 polling streams, were opened at 7.30am and will close in stages until 5.30 pm.

Meanwhile, he said the EC has received five reports throughout the two by-elections, with four involving election offences committed during the campaign period and one related to provocation.

“However, none of the cases has involved a police report so far, as they are being handled by the appointed monitoring body,” he told reporters.

The Kinabatangan parliamentary by-election is a three-cornered contest among Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar of Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman (Warisan) and Goldam Hamid (Independent), while the Lamag state by-election is a straight fight between Mohd Ismail Ayob (BN) and Mazliwati Abdul Malek (Warisan).

The by-elections are being held following the death of the MP and assemblyman, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, on December 5 last year. — Bernama