Sunday April 28, 2013

GE13: Overseas missions all set for postal voting

PETALING JAYA: A total of 103 Malaysian missions overseas are all set to facilitate the voting process for citizens living abroad.

“Registered voters can head to the Malaysian mission in their country of residence to get their ballot papers on Sunday.

“Their ballots will leave these countries on Monday so they will reach the respective returning officers (ROs) at least two days before May 5, which is polling day,” Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said yesterday.

A total of 6,298 Malaysians overseas have registered for postal voting.

Their votes will be counted alongside those of 2,900 absentee voters, comprising full-time Malaysian students and civil servants based abroad, as well as their spouses.

Malaysians in Australia are expected to be the first to vote, followed by those staying in Asian countries, then Europe and finally the United States.

Malaysians in foreign countries other than Britain and Australia must collect and return their ballot papers at the respective Malaysian missions between 9am and 6pm local time, while those in Britain and Australia can do so between 9am and 8pm local time.

The Malaysian High Commission in London and the Malaysian Consulate-General in Melbourne have been given an additional two hours as the two countries had recorded over 1,000 postal voters.

Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz said ballot papers had already been posted to domestic postal voters who registered with the EC.

“Those eligible for local postal voting like armed forces members on duty as well as media and EC personnel should have received their ballot papers via post by now.

“Once they have marked the papers and sealed the envelopes, they must post them to the respective ROs on their own,” he said.

National Union of Journalists Malaysia president Chin Sung Chew confirmed that media personnel began receiving their ballots three days ago.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

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