KLUANG: The nomination process for the Mahkota by-election went smoothly in a controlled environment, says Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar.

KLUANG: Eligible voters for the Mahkota state by-election have travelled home from all over the country and even from Singapore to exercise their voting rights.

The Mahkota by-election is numerically inconsequential to the UMNO-led state government. At the March 2022 state elections, UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) won 40 of the 56 seats in the Johor Assembly.

Mahkota has been contested since 2004, with BN winning four of the last five elections. The Sept 28 by-election was called following the death of its assemblywoman Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain in August.

The Mahkota by-election will be held on Sept 28, with early voting set for Sept 24. The seat is a mixed constituency, with Malays comprising 54% of the voters, Chinese 35% and Indians 8%.

Sharifah won the Mahkota state seat in the 2022 Johor election. She previously served as Penawar assemblyman from 2018 to 2022. She was also head of the Kluang Umno women’s wing.