Sarawak to go to the polls on Dec 18

Sarawak will hold its long awaited election on Dec 18, with 12 days of campaigning following nomination day on Dec 6, in the third pandemic-era state election to be held after Sabah and Melaka.

A total of 1.2 million voters are eligible to vote, with the Election Commission expecting a 70% voter turnout.

The state legislative assembly was dissolved on Nov 3 after the king consented to the revocation of the extended state of emergency.

There are 82 seats in Sarawak’s legislative assembly, the largest in the country.

Before the dissolution of the state assembly, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) had held 68 seats – 47 belonging to PBB, 11 to PRS, seven to SUPP and three to PDP.

On the opposition bench, SUPP splinter PSB had held six seats while Sarawak DAP held five and Bersatu one. There was also one seat held by an independent and one vacant.

EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said 82 nomination centres and another 82 tallying centres will be used for the Sarawak election.

Meanwhile, 1,866 voting centres with 3,555 voting streams and 85 early voting centres with 111 voting streams will be prepared.

The entire election is expected to cost some RM150 million.

A total of 346 voting centres will open from 7.30am to 5pm on election day while the remaining 1,520 will operate according to set hours.

For early voting centres, 11 will open from 8am to 12 noon, 20 from 8am to 2pm, and 54 from 8am to 5pm.

Covid-19 prevention measures will be finalised by the health ministry, National Security Council, police and Sarawak disaster management committee.