Credit : Bernama (via Malay Mail)
MELAKA, November 10, 2026 – The Election Commission (EC) is targeting a turnout of up to 95 per cent among early voters in the 16th Melaka state election, with more than half of the 12,531 security personnel and spouses eligible to vote early having cast their ballots by mid-morning today, Bernama, Malay Mail and Astro Awani reported.
EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said that as of 10.35am, 53.25 per cent of early voters, or 5,286 people, had voted across 31 polling centres comprising 50 polling streams throughout the state.
“We hope this trend will continue until this evening, with a target turnout of up to 95 per cent,” he told reporters after observing the early voting process at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kem Terendak in Sungai Udang, according to Astro Awani.
According to EC statistics, the early voters comprise 9,769 military personnel and their spouses and 2,762 police personnel. Polling centres opened at 8am and close in stages. Ramlan said 19 centres with fewer voters were scheduled to close at noon, three at about 2pm and nine at about 5pm.
In a related development, Ramlan said 237 election offences had been reported to the EC’s monitoring teams as of last night, covering the campaign period that began after nomination on October 31, 2026.
He said the cases involved minor offences under election regulations, among them matters related to campaigning, the display of party flags and campaign materials. “Otherwise, everything has proceeded well and smoothly, with no major incidents reported,” he said, as quoted by Malay Mail.
“I hope this trend continues throughout the remainder of the campaign period, and I urge everyone to remain prudent and orderly, and to avoid causing any disruptions,” he added.
Bernama reported that voting proceeded smoothly and in an orderly manner from the morning. At the Melaka police contingent headquarters in Bukit Beruang, within the Ayer Keroh state constituency, police personnel began arriving as early as 7.30am, with 817 personnel set to vote there. At Kem Terendak in Sungai Udang, three polling centres were opened for military personnel and their spouses: SK Kem Terendak I with 2,850 voters, SK Kem Terendak II with 2,660 voters and SMK Kem Terendak with 2,189 voters.
Early voting allows security personnel to cast their ballots before they are deployed to keep the peace on the main polling day.
A total of 687,697 voters are eligible to vote in the election, which was called after the state assembly was dissolved on September 23, 2026 with the consent of the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Melaka, Tun Mohd Ali Rustam. Seventy-nine candidates are contesting the 28 state seats.
Pakatan Harapan is fielding candidates in 24 seats, Barisan Nasional in 23, Parti Bersama Malaysia in 16, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in seven and Perikatan Nasional in five, with Parti Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia contesting one seat alongside three independent candidates.
In the 2021 Melaka state election, Barisan Nasional won 21 seats to form the state government, while Pakatan Harapan won five and Perikatan Nasional two.
The campaign period ends at 11.59pm on November 13, 2026, and the EC has fixed November 14, 2026 as polling day.
Sources: Malay Mail/Bernama, Malay Mail/Bernama, Astro Awani, RTM
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