IPOH, Nov 19 — Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reiterated his confidence on garnering a simple majority to form the next federal government due to the relatively high turnout this morning.
The Election Commission recorded a voter turnout of 20 per cent at 10am today despite the inclement weather in certain areas, like Baram in Sarawak where the floods forced a sudden change in polling stations.
A total of 20,905,366 Malaysians are eligible to vote this year. This means that 20 per cent roughly translates to 4.2 million people who have cast their ballots.
Just for context, a 60 per cent turnout this year is 12.5 million voters, which would already be more than the total turnout in the 14th general election four years ago.
When met at Sekolah Kebangsaan Manjoi Dua here, Anwar also addressed the possibility of a “hung Parliament”, but hopes to avoid that.
“When we talk to the general population, the voters, there is a possibility of a hung Parliament. Which means we could go back to horse trading, which we want to avoid.
“There should be no ultimatum for court cases, on positions or contracts because we stand for good governance. Hopefully we want to achieve that,” he told reporters.
He hopes more voters will go out to cast their ballots in the afternoon so a stable government can be formed to lead the country for the next five years.
Previously, Anwar has openly claimed that he rejected the offer to become prime minister after certain politicians latched a few conditions like interfering judicial proceedings as part of the deal for him to become prime minister.
Polling nationwide will close at 6pm today, though some places with lower voter populations will close earlier.
