BINTULU: The Jepak state constituency will witness 22,731 registered voters participating in the by-election on Saturday, November 4th. The election will decide on a new representative for the area. There will be 14 polling centres with a total of 45 polling streams. These voting centres will open at 7.30am and close at different times, with 11 centres closing at 5.30pm and three closing at 4pm.
The Election Commission (EC), prior to the by-election, issued 73 postal ballot papers to eligible electors, including 43 police officers and personnel. The campaign period for the by-election spanned two weeks, beginning on October 21st. The three-cornered fight in the Jepak by-election is between Iskandar Turkee of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Stevenson Joseph Sumbang of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), and Chieng Lea Phing of Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak (Aspirasi).
In terms of weather predictions, the Malaysian Meteorological Department forecasts clear weather in the morning and thunderstorms in some areas during the evening. The EC chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh, has expressed an expectation for a voter turnout of 65 percent. The announcement of the election result is anticipated to take place at 9 pm after the EC inspects the vote tallying centre at Dewan Suarah.
The Jepak state by-election was necessitated by the passing of the long-serving assemblyman Datuk Talib Zulpilip of GPS on September 15th. In the 12th Sarawak state election held in December 2021, Talib had successfully defended the Jepak seat since 1996 with a substantial 4,243-vote majority. – Bernama
