KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Electoral Commission (EC) has said all its state offices are ready to hold the 15th general election (GE15) whenever parliament is dissolved.
Commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh told Malaysian daily Utusan Malaysia that 21.1 million people are eligible to vote if elections are called soon.
The election is expected to cost around RM1 billion (around US$224 million), the Aug. 9 report was quoted as saying.
“The EC has taken the initiative, including all aspects of budget management, logistics, hardware and system requirements of ICT (information and communication technology), human resource management as well as officer training,” he said, according to Malay Mail, which cited the Utusan Malaysia Report.
Mr. Abdul Ghani added that election officials across the country have undergone various trainings and crash courses to learn more about their respective roles, duties and responsibilities.
Effective December 15, 2021, the voting age in Malaysia was lowered from 21 to 18, alongside the implementation of automatic voter registration.
The next general election is not due before 2023, but talks of an early ballot are rife, with the United Malaysian National Organization (UMNO), which currently serves as prime minister, appearing to be pushing for the dissolution of parliament.