MELAKA (Nov 14): The Election Commission (EC) expects the first result of the 16th Melaka state election to be known by 9.30pm on Saturday, said EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun.

He said the official results for all 28 state assembly seats are expected to be known before midnight.

“We should be able to report the first result to the public by 9.30pm, and we anticipate that all results will be available before midnight,” he told reporters after visiting a polling station at SJK(C) Malim here on Saturday.

Commenting on the voter turnout, Ramlan noted that as of 11.25am, the turnout was quite encouraging at 31.07%.

He expressed confidence that the minimum target of a 70% voter turnout for this election could be achieved.

“I remain confident in the 70% to 75% figure. A minimum of 70% is achievable this time,” he said, while urging the public to come out and vote early, given the forecast of rain in the afternoon.

In a related development, Ramlan mentioned that over 7,000 registered voters with disabilities have already cast their ballots.

Regarding voter turnout by gender, Ramlan said the turnout among female voters is currently higher than that of male voters, based on real-time data obtained through the EC’s OCR-VA system.

Commenting on election-related offences, Ramlan said 301 minor election offences had been reported as of Friday night, most of which involved the installation of campaign materials.

“I cannot say that 301 is a low figure. We hope that such incidents can be further reduced in the future,” he said.

He also expressed his appreciation to members of the public who came forward to report election offences, adding that the EC has taken action regarding the complaints received.

According to data from the EC, 675,166 voters are eligible to cast their ballots on Saturday to elect representatives for the 28 state assembly seats.

Click here for all you need to know about the 2026 Melaka state election.

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