What You Should Know About the Upcoming State Polls as Postal Voting to Open June 15

On 19 November 2022, Malaysia headed to the polls for the GE15 which resulted in the formation of a unity government and the election of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim as our tenth prime minister.

Historically, general elections for all state legislative assemblies of Malaysia except Sarawak had been held concurrently as a cost-saving measure. However, the states could dissolve their own legislatures independently from Parliament, and several states (Sabah, Malacca, and Johor) had held early elections due to the political instability, disrupting their usual electoral cycle.

The governments of these states and Sarawak indicated that they would not be holding state elections concurrently. The governments of several other states, primarily those under a Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan Nasional government, stated that they would prefer to complete a full term. This meant that while all voters cast their ballots for the parliament seats, only some states cast their votes for the state assembly. You either received one or two ballot papers depending on your state.

State Assemblies Which Are Set to Dissolve

According to The Star, Penang’s Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has declared that the state government will dissolve the state legislative assembly on 28 June, paving the way for state elections.

The state election must be held within 60 days of the assembly’s dissolution and will automatically dissolve if a date is not proposed. The following are the dates that the state assemblies will automatically dissolve:

• Selangor (26 June)

• Kelantan (28 June)

• Terengganu (1 July)

• Negeri Sembilan (2 July)

• Kedah (4 July)

• Penang (2 August)

Domestic & International Postal Voting

The Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia (Election Commission) has announced in an official statement by Election Commission secretary Dato’ Indera Ikmalrudin Ishak that domestic and international postal voting for the aforementioned states will open on 15 June.

Applications for postal voting for all categories must be made online at https://myspr.spr.gov.my. This includes:

• Category 1A (EC officials, election staff and media personnel)

• Category 1B (Malaysians abroad)

• Category 1C (agencies or organisations)

However, police and army personnel, who are under Category 1A, must apply manually using Form 1A which can be downloaded from the EC portal at https://www.spr.gov.my from 15 June. Form 1A must be submitted to the returning officer of the applicants’ election division after they are certified by their department heads.

Those who are eligible and intend to use postal voting must register or have a MySPR account before applying for postal voting. They are encouraged to register earlier at https://www.myspr.gov.my to avoid any last-minute issues.

The closing date for postal voting applications are as follows:

• Category 1A is three days before nomination day

• Category 1B is three days after the special EC meeting

• Category 1C is six days after the special EC meeting

The dates for the special meeting to fix the important dates, including the closing dates for applications for domestic and international postal voting will be announced later.

For the delivery of postal ballot papers to voters outside of Malaysia (PTH), the EC urges them to contact the EC to check on their overseas address included in SPR’s records and to update their addresses if they have moved or returned to Malaysia.

Further Info

Those voters may contact the EC at 03-88927218 or via email at [email protected] by 23 June.

For any information or further explanation, contact the EC at 03-8892 7218 or 03-88927200.

For those who are from the six states, don’t forget to vote and exercise your rights!