freemalaysiatoday.com | 30-Aug-2023 – Merdeka Center says people are also less inclined to return to their hometowns than they were last November for GE15.
PETALING JAYA: Merdeka Center has predicted that the voter turnout rate for the elections in six states tomorrow will be lower than that of the 15th general election (GE15) last November.
Its co-founder and programmes director, Ibrahim Suffian, said unlike in the case of GE15, some voters may not bother to return to their hometowns to vote in the state polls as they may think their vote would not change anything, China Press reported.
Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) chairman Redzuan Othman said IDE’s survey on nomination day revealed that people were less excited about the state elections than they were about GE15.
“Our survey found that even in Selangor, where voters mostly receive their information through various media, the turnout rate may only be 79%, which is the same as it was for GE15,” he added.
“Even if there is an expected increase, it will only be somewhere between 2% and 3%, nothing exponential.”
Redzuan said the three main political coalitions – Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) – have focused on seats they know they have a chance of winning and not wasting time in other places.
Meanwhile, an IDE survey also showed that party members will vote as per leadership wishes.
“At least 80% of young people fit into the undecided category,” Redzuan said, adding that campaign activities from all political coalitions this past two weeks might have helped these voters come to a decision.
He also pointed out that PN’s campaign this time was not as “aggressive” as it was in GE15, which might have been due to financial constraints after Bersatu’s accounts were frozen by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Voters in six states, namely, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan will be voting for their new state legislative assembly members tomorrow.