Melaka polls: Early voting will see strict SOPs await voters tomorrow

According to the Election Commission (EC), the number of early voters consists of 9,217 military personnel and their spouses as well as 2,340 police personnel.

The 31 PPAs are located in 24 state constituencies, of which 21 centres will open at 8 am and will close at 2 pm while another 10 PPA will close at 5.30 pm.

Among the PPAs involved are at the Melaka contingent police headquarters multipurpose hall; Jasin district police headquarters multipurpose hall; Alor Gajah district police headquarters multipurpose hall and Sri Beruang Territorial Army camp hall.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) forecast is for scattered rain in the morning in one or two places in the districts of Alor Gajah, Melaka Tengah and Jasin, as well as thunderstorms expected in the afternoon.

There are four time slots and voters can check them on the mySPR Semak application or the EC portal. The four time slots are from 8 am to 10 am; 10 am to 12 noon; 12 noon to 2 pm; and 2 pm to 4.20 pm.

The early voting process will see the implementation of strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) for compliance with the COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines under the National Recovery Plan, as the pandemic situation is still not fully under control.

Physical distancing, wearing face masks, use of hand sanitisers, body temperature screening and recording attendance will be carried out at the polling centres in addition to having to scan the MySejahtera QR code before entering the PPA.

According to the guidelines issued by the EC, voters have to use hand sanitiser at three stations in the polling centre, including at the entrance of the polling centre, at the polling stream and in front of the poll clerk.

Voters who have a body temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius, cough, sore throat or have difficulty breathing will be immediately isolated from other voters.

Next, a special disposable brush will be used to apply the indelible ink on the fingers of COVID-19 symptomatic voters, apart from them being required to wear double face masks and disposable gloves before holding the ballot paper and going to the special tent to cast ballots.

Officers involved in handling individuals with symptoms must adhere to set procedures and wear personal protective clothing (PPE), as well as apron, face shield and gloves while handling the symptomatic individuals.

Cleaning and sanitation of polling booth must be done every time a voter with symptoms has finished marking their ballot papers.

The voters will be managed with the help of a health officer for examination and further action after voting.

The early voting process will be witnessed by the agents of the contesting candidates, and the voting process will also be streamed live on the EC's Facebook page.

While waiting for the counting process on Nov 20, ballot boxes will be kept at the police station lock-up.

The EC set the voting date for the Melaka polls on Nov 20 and early voting on Nov 16 (tomorrow), following the dissolution of the state assembly on Oct 4 after four state assemblymen withdrew support for Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali.