Voting ends, early results expected after 7.30pm

PETALING JAYA: Voting the 13th General Election is over, with polling stations nationwide closed at 5.00pm.

Election Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omarsaid counting of ballots are expected to begin at 5.30pm

Wan Ahmad said counting is expected to proceed smoothly, adding that each polling stream has not more than 700 voters.

“Many simulations have also been conducted. We expect the earliest results to be in by 7.30pm,” he said.

The earliest results are expected from state seats with less than 15,000 voters, he added.

Wan Ahmad advised political party supporters not to impede the work of EC officers or stop the ballot boxes from being counted.

There are 8,789 polling centres with 26,219 streams nationwide.

A total of 1,900 candidates (579 for parliament and 1,321 for state seats) contested for 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats.

The weather was fine with rain in the afternoon in most areas.

Here is a timeline of events:

6.00pm: 80% of the 12,992,661 voters eligible to vote in the 13th General Election have cast their ballots, giving the highest voter turnout for the country in a general election, the Election Commission (EC) announced.

5.49pm: Counting of postal and early votes for Bandar Tun Razak constituency going on now in Kuala Lumpur City Hall Training Centre in Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak.

5.45pm: Subang parliamentary returning officer Datuk Zulkepli Ahmadallows media to get closer look at the sorting and counting process for advance and postal votes.

5.40pm: In Klang, a bus believed to be ferrying foreigners, is escorted by police to Pandamaran police station after Pakatan supporters prevented it from going near polling station in SJKC Pandamaran B, on suspicion that they are phantom voters.

5.30pm: EC officers have begun counting postal votes at tallying centre in SMK Victoria Institution.

5pm: Thousands of Pakatan supporters gathered at polling centre in Kolej Vokasional Klang after rumours circulated that phantom voters would be sent there. FRU on standby.

Police are also investigating an incident in Taman Sentosa, Klang where a bus full of people was stopped by several member of the public. It is believed that the bus was stopped as people thought that the bus was full of foreigners on their way to vote.

4.40pm: Caretaker Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein was involved in a helicopter landing mishap after casting his vote in Johor, but no one was hurt in the incident, says IGP

4.15pm: EC reports that voter turnout in Perak as of 4pm is 68.58%, while 65.43% have cast their votes in Pahang as at 2pm. Voter turn out in Johor as of 2pm is about 65%.

3.45pm: Kulai parliamentary seat DAP candidate Teo Nie Ching tweets that she was denied entry to the SMK Taman Putri polling station. She wanted to verify claims from registered voters that they were not allowed to vote as someone had voted on their behalf.

3.15pm: Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh arrives at SK Sungai Sireh in Kota Baru to cast his ballot. Skies are sunny throughout Kelantan even as other parts of the country report showers

2.45pm: Padang Serai – Heavy rain in the south of Kedah but voters are continuing to arrive at polling centers. EC officials here say most had already voted in the morning. Some claim an 80% turnout.

Padang Serai – EC official at SK Guar Lobak showed a page from the Ketua Tempat Mengundi manual which said that voters are allowed to use either a pen or a 6B pencil. He said voters were also given erasers. When asked why, he said: “Some are not so confident, so that’s why we let them use the pencil and the eraser.”

Muar – It is drizzling in certain parts of the district and the rain is heavy in Ayer Hitam and Batu Pahat, Johor.

Gelang Patah – A group of people assemble at the entrance of SJKC Pu Sze claiming that a vehicle believed to be a party supporter entered the school premise. The group demands that the vehicle be removed. Police have increased their presence in the area.

Indera Mahkota MCA deputy chairman Datuk Jack How complains that Pakatan Rakyat supporters are canvassing for votes outside SJKC Pei Chai. An EC official said the supporters were campaigning outside the 50m boundary. A policeman said by right, nobody should be campaigning but even Barisan Nasional supporters are doing it for votes outside the boundary. “But if they come into our area, we will arrest them immediately,” he said.

2.10pm: Gombak parliament candidate Azmin Ali arrives at SK Klang Gate with his wife and brother, celebrity chef Azwan Ali, to cast their ballots. Not many voters present due to heavy rain.

PKR’s Pandan parliamentary candidate Rafizi Ramlin lodges police report over suspected phantom voters. With him are Pandan voters Seok Leong Yew and Sivaprakasam a/l S N Karuppiah, who complained of unknown individuals being registered as voters at their respective homes in Taman Dagang.

2.00pm: Its raining in several areas in the Klang valley.

Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak makes a brief stop outside SK Seksyen 6 with Shah Alam parliamentary candidate Datuk Zulkifli Noordin and Kota Anggerik candidate Mohd Yusof Din.

Gelang Patah – Johor Opposition leader Dr Boo Cheng Hau cast his vote at SK Taman Universiti 2 at 10.40am.

Gelang Patah – Police detain a 19-year-old man for climbing over a wall and trying to enter SJK(C) Pu Sze polling centre.

1.00pm: Voter turnout nationwide as at 12.30pm is 59.6%.

16 police reports received from various districts, says Perak police chief DCP Mohd Shukri Dahlan. Of the 16 reports, 14 were on the voters’ complaints on the indelible ink.

Eleven polling stations in the deep interior of Baram parliamentary constituency closed. Baram BN deputy elections director Dennis Ngausays polling stations are located in the upper reaches of the Baram basin.

Perak EC voter turnout as 12pm: Lumut(59.99%), Kampar(58.83%),Gopeng(56.64%), Sungai Siput(54.46%), Ipoh Barat(55.2%), Ipoh Timor(57.44%), Kuala Kangsar(59.05%), Tapah(56.55%), Tanjung Malim(60.87%).

12.45pm: Voter turnout for Kluang parliamentary seat at noon 18.96%.

12.30pm: Perak Election Commission says voter turnout in the state as at 11am is 22.73%.

Voter turnout as at 10am for Gopeng (3.69%), Kampar (2.13%),Ipoh Timor (3.53%), Sungai Siput (5.23%), Beruas (5.63%).

12.00pm: Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim arrives at SRK Kampong Api Api to cast his vote with cheering from voters.

A lethargic mood prevails at polling centres around Kijal and Kemasik constituencies in Kemaman, Terengganu with party supporters appearing half-asleep in their party tents.

11.45am: State election commission assures voters in Johor their ballots will not be disqualified if they had used pencils to mark their ballots instead of pens.

In Mersing, where a polling centre ran out of pens earlier after voters took off with them, the state EC assures voters who marked the ballot slips with indelible ink for only one candidate that their vote will be allowed.

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh to lodge complaint to the returning officer at Penang Free School over indelible ink which could be washed off his finger.

Bangsar – A 50% voter turnout can be expected nationwide by 12.30pm, says EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar

Bangsar – Election process proceeding smoothly so far; no untoward incidents, says Wan Ahmad

11.15am: Singer Datuk Siti Nurhaliza arrives at SK Alam Damai in Bandar Tun Razak to cast her vote.

11.00am: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng questions indelible ink, saying it can be rubbed off. Several voters at SJKC Kong Min Pusat also said that the ink could be washed off after they washed their hands after casting their vote. Lim also questioned why there were several names of the same address registered.

11.00am:Bukit Tengah candidate Teng Chang Yeow returns to SK St Xavier to vote. Teng had arrived early but left as the queue was too long.

10.30am: Muar – Dark clouds are starting to gather. Rain should fall in an hour or two.

Subang Jaya – Voters in USJ5 made to wait for two hours just to check their stream even though they have printout from EC website. EC officers then allow voters to skip the stream checking process because of the long queue.

Sungai Petani: A flag-bearer, when asked why he was campaigning and not voting, said, “We’ve got plenty of time! Voting ends at 5pm, so we can go anytime!”

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad casts his vote at SK Titi Gajah dispelling claims that he left the country last night.

10.15am:Voters complain to DAP’s Senai state seat candidate Wong Shu Qi that pencils were being used to mark the ballots. Polling station supervisor Shukor Salleh says EC officers are using the pencils and not the voters. “We did not ask voters to use pencils, but even if they did, their votes will still be valid,” he said. He adds that EC are to immediately put away any pencils and use the pens.

Sungai Petani: BN and PR set up tents by the road near SMK Taman Ria Jaya and are campaigning against each other. Bikes with flags whizzes by with taunts from both sides. Policemen are standing by saying these supporters are breaking the law but they cannot do much as there are too many of them.

10.00am: Sungai Petani: Policemen tell voters at Taman Ria Jaya to go to party tents nearby to check their polling streams. “We have no choice, they just have to wait,” an EC official tells impatient voters.

Situation gets chaotic at SJKC Chung Hwa Kampung Air, Kota Kinabalu as voters start to push and scream to be allowed into the polling station due to the hot weather.

An elderly man, tired of queuing up in Limut, yelled at an EC worker on duty to check voters’ name on the list. The crowd in the polling station shrinks to about 200.

It is drizzling and all quiet in Johor Baru city centre as Johoreans head to their respective polling centres to cast their votes.

9.30am: Bandar Tun Razak incumbent MP Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim greets voters at SMK Bandar Tun Razak.

Lumut: Tiong Kee Huat and his wife Loo Le Yoan, both 56, who came back from Brunei, find out they are registered as postal voters. They are waiting for a reply from the Election Commission in Ipoh. It was reported that Malaysians living Brunei are not entitled to postal voting.

A voter known only as Goh shows his “almost clean index finger” just minutes after voting at SJK Ching Hwa Likas, Kampung Air, Kota Kinabalu.

The EC runs out of indelible ink at SMK Bandaraya and voters are getting impatient.

9.15am: Pekan parliamentary candidate Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak andDatin Seri Rosmah Mansor arrive at Sekolah Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah to cast their ballots.

Voters at SK Marian Convent, Ipoh complain about traffic control at Jalan Tambun near Canning Garden as people parked their vehicles along the road. About 100 people are queuing at the school as the numbers began to swell.

MIC deputy president Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam casts his vote at SMK Buloh Kasap.

Pasir Mas parliamentary candidate Datuk Ibrahim Ali arrives at Maktab Vokasional Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

9.00am: Sepang parliamentary candidate Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamedarrives to cast his vote with his wife Azlina Ahmad at SMK Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi Sepang.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh arrives at Penang Free School to cast his vote.

8.50am: Some people at the SJKC Chung Hwa Kampung Air, Kota Kinabalu, who tried to jump queue were ‘booed’ by others.

PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail arrive at SK Penanti to cast their votes.

Lembah Pantai candidate Nurul Izzah Anwar casts her vote. She tells reporters she is cautiously optimistic of her chances.

PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and his wife cast their votes at SMK Raja Sakti.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng cast his vote at SMJK Chung Hwa Confucian with his wife Betty Chew and mother Neo Yok Tee, 73.

Penang Barisan Nasional chief Teng Chang Yeow arrives at SK St Xavier Branch in Pulau Tikus to cast his ballot, accompanied by his wife and Pulau Tikus candidate Rowena Yam. Teng says he will return at 10.30am as the line was too long.

“The turnout has been extraordinary,” he said. Asked how he was feeling, the Gerakan leader said he was tired. “I only had four hours sleep,” he quipped.

8:30am: Sungai Petani: Voters seen arguing with EC officials as to why they have to wait in the sun at the Sultan Mohamad Jiwa School. They said they should be let in without going through confirmation process.

8.30am: Bentong parliamentary candidate Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Laicast his vote at SK Sulaiman.

8:15am: DAP supporters are ordered by EC officers to remove a publicity tent set up near Dawning Kindergarten Batu Pahat polling centre.

8.15am: Having voted last four times, a man at SJK(C) Lee Rubber in the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat finds that his name is not on the EC website or manual list.

8.10am: PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang cast his vote at SK Rusila, Marang. He says he is confident of PAS repeating 1999 victory in the state.

8:10am: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin arrives at SMK Sri Muar with his wifePuan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman.

8.00am: MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek arrives at Dawning Kindergarten in Batu Pahat to cast his vote.

7.30am – Bukit Gasing – Election workers being brief of their duties at the SK Sri Damai Jalan 17/13 Petaling Jaya.

7.55am – Bukit Gasing SK Sri Damai stream – Women folks request EC workers that the physically challenged and senior citizens be given a priority lane.