Stop canvassing for votes, says EC

Canvassing for votes by political parties ontesting in the 13th general election (GE13) should not be carried out Sunday as the campaign period ended at 11.59pm Saturday night, said Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

Hence, he advised voters and party supporters to adhere to the regulations and not to carry out such activities, especially at polling centres, to ensure a smooth voting process.

"I have stated many times before, there should be no campaigning on polling day. No more canvassing for votes, but I noticed such activities just now," he told reporters after casting his ballot at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seksyen Tujuh here at 8.50am Sunday.

He said the voting process this morning was encouraging as people lined up as early as 8am at respective polling centres to cast their vote.

"Voters appeared to be heeding EC's advice to vote early. The weather this morning is fair but it is expected to rain in the afternoon. So, I hope voters will come out early to vote," he said.

Abdul Aziz reminded voters to be patient as the process of smearing the indelible ink on the finger at polling stations might cause the voting process to be longer than before.

"I have reminded EC personnel to shake the indelible ink bottle well so that there will be no more allegations that the indelible ink mark can be easily removed or disappear," he added.

After voting, Abdul Aziz, who was accompanied by Shah Alam parliamentary constituency returning officer Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan, visited the polling centre and mingled with voters.

Abdul Aziz is scheduled to visit several polling centres here, including Sekolah Kebangsaan Raja Muda (Integrasi) Seksyen Empat, Sekolah Rendah Agama Seksyen 3 and SMK Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Seksyen Dua.

He cast his ballot for the Shah Alam parliamentary and the Kota Anggerik state constituencies.