PETALING JAYA: The Johor state elections will take place on March 12, with early voting set for March 8.
Election Commission (EC) chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh announced that nominations will be on Feb 26.
He told a press conference in Johor Bahru that 2,597,742 voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the elections.
Ghani also said the EC would station 56 election officers to monitor the campaign activities, and they would be aided by 186 assistant managers.
The 56-seat Johor state assembly was dissolved on Jan 22 after the Barisan Nasional-led government’s majority was reduced to a solitary seat following the death of Bersatu’s Kempas assemblyman, Osman Sapian, in December.
This will be the third time that Malaysians are going to the polls in five months after the Melaka and Sarawak elections in November and December, respectively.
Some 6% of the electorate will comprise those between the ages of 18 and 20, who will be voting for the first time following the implementation of Undi18.
Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim has said the coalition would be contesting in all 56 seats, adding that seat allocations had been finalised.
Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said the party aimed to contest in at least 42 seats.
Umno and DAP held 14 seats each in the state assembly before its dissolution. They were followed by Bersatu (11), PKR (7), Amanah (6), MIC (2) and PAS (1).-FMT