KLUANG: A total of 95.45% of military personnel and their spouses, as well as police officers, participated as early voters in the Mahkota state by-election today.

Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak in a statement today said the early voting process involved 4,437 voters.

He commended the returning officer, Azurawati Wahid and her team for their excellent management of the voting process.

The EC also expressed gratitude to all parties involved, including the police, military, local authorities (PBT) and the media, for their cooperation and support.

The early voting took place at three polling centres - Dewan Mahkota at Mahkota Camp, Dewan Pengaman Zamrud Taman Perumahan Polis Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Kluang and Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sultan Sir Ibrahim.

The three voting centres opened at 8 am and closed at 5 pm.

The Mahkota by-election, with polling scheduled for Sept 28, is a straight contest between Barisan Nasional candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah and Mohamad Haizan Jaafar of Perikatan Nasional.

The by-election is being held following the death of the incumbent assemblyman, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, aged 63, on Aug 2.

The Mahkota state constituency, which falls under the Kluang parliamentary area, has a total of 66,318 registered voters, with 20 polling centres set to open this Saturday.