PUTRAJAYA, April 10 — Polling for the 14th general election will be held on May 9, a Wednesday, with nominations taking place on April 28, a Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) announced today.

EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah also said today that voting for advance and postal voters will take place on May 5.

This provides for an 11-day campaigning period.

A total of 14.9 million registered voters will be eligible to take part in the national polls, which will take place simultaneously at all states except for the Sarawak state assembly, which is not due to be dissolved until 2021.

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The EC announced the dates following a special two-hour meeting at its headquarters here to specifically decide the dates and other details regarding the national elections.

Advance and postal voting will take place on May 5, a Saturday, with the deadline to register as advance and postal voters set as either April 23 or April 28, depending on the category of application.

The electoral roll, which is from the fourth quarter of 2017, will be on sale beginning April 16, allowing voters to check their latest voting status and details.

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The commission said the election will cost RM500 million to conduct.

A total of 259,391 citizens will be appointed as poll workers at 8,898 voting centres and 28,995 voting streams.

Hashim would not explain why polling was set for a weekday, which traditionally lowers the turnout, as he declined to take questions from the press.

“We have also invited 14 countries to observe our election process, aside from 14 other NGOs,” he said.

The official writ for the election will be issued tomorrow.