KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 – Some 2.3 million or 21.69 per cent of the 13,291,385 eligible voters for the 13th general election are newly registered and will be casting their votes for the first time this year. According to Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, this is the highest number of new voters recorded so far.
“This increase is the result of the EC’s continuous hard work in encouraging the people to register so that they can carry out their duty on polling day,” said Wan Ahmad.
He said the electoral roll gazetted in the fourth quarter of 2012 saw 5,564,131 or almost 42 per cent of the eligible voters aged below 40. From this figure, 3,024,909 or 22.76 per cent were aged 30 to 39, while 19.1 per cent (2,539,222) were aged between 21 and 29.
Their eligibility to determine the nation’s future government makes them a target of political parties contesting in the general election. Wan Ahmad said the younger group comprised individuals who were not easily dictated. Although they might not be a determining factor in the outcome of the 13th general election, their votes will have a big impact on what is described as the mother of all elections.
Wan Ahmad said in the 13th general election, the EC would use the electoral roll until the fourth quarter of 2012 gazetted on Feb 22, as the electoral roll for the first quarter of 2013 had yet to be gazetted. He said based on the electoral roll, the highest number of voters after youths were those in their 40s (21.85 per cent), followed by those in the 50s (18.39), 60s (10.73), 70s (5.24), 80s (1.58) and 90s (0.35).
In the 12th general election held in 2008, 10,922,139 people were eligible to vote. Voter statistics revealed that Selangor has the highest number at 2,051,708, an increase of 486,214 (31.06 per cent) compared to 2008. This is followed by Johor (1,608,326), Perak (1,409,772), Sarawak (1,086,191), Kedah (1,043,281), Sabah (982,311) and Kelantan (920,433). The Federal Territory of Putrajaya recorded the least number of voters at 15,798 people.
BERNAMA
