PORT DICKSON, Oct 13 ― Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was satisfied with voter turnout in the by-election here today, which the Election Commission put at just 17 per cent at 10am.
The PKR president-elect who is working on his comeback to active politics expressed the belief that the rate of attendance will increase later.
“It is slower than usual but it is not bad as I have checked with the latest list as of 10am and it is quite satisfactory.
“But people expect a higher turnout because they are worried about the rain this evening but it seems like the people are coming out now in bigger numbers now. We hope for the best,” he said when met at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK)Telok Kemang here today.
Dressed in a white shirt and brown pants, Anwar arrived at 10.53am and quickly make his round to meet voters and supporters who greeted him eagerly.
PAS candidate Lt Col (Rtd) Mohd Nazari Mokhtar and his entourage arrived at the same location at 11.07am.
Both candidates greeted each other warmly before proceeding with their respective programmes.
Independent candidate Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Anwar’s accuser in Sodomy II, was also present at the school during Anwar’s visit.
Saiful noted the weak turnout and predicted this would mean trouble for the main contenders.
“Currently, the voter turnout is quite low but as an underdog, I'm not worried.
“It is the major candidates that should be worried,” said Saiful.
Six candidates are vying in today’s poll. Other runners include independents Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, Stevie Chan Ken Long, Ken Chew Yuen and Lau Seck Yan.
Former state mentri besar Isa is the only one among the six who is eligible to vote today; the others are not registered voters in the constituency.
