JOHOR BARU: A sudden downpour did not dampen the spirits of early voters to come out and cast their vote at Dewan Dato’ Onn in the Johor police headquarters here on Tuesday (March 8).

       It had started to drizzle at around 8am on Tuesday with some of the early voters lining up from as early as 7.30am.

       It was earlier reported that a total of 11,576 policemen are expected to cast their votes early in the Johor state election on Tuesday.

       Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the Election Commission (EC) would be providing 63 polling stations with 83 channels for early voters across the state.

       Some 222,531 personnel from the military, police, and other agencies will be involved in the early voting process on March 8, where 11,576 of them are policemen.

       "We have also made 382 postal vote requests, where 106 appeals were rejected, meaning that they would have to vote in the early voting period."

       He also urged all policemen and women to adhere to the SOP imposed by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19.

       Besides the Johor Police Headquarters in Jalan Tebrau here, the 10 district police headquarters statewide, and some government offices, have also been turned into polling centres.

       Military personnel will cast their votes at the Mahkota Camp, Kluang; Tebrau Camp, Ulu Tiram; the 10th Royal Malay Regiment (RAMD) Camp, Batu Pahat; and the 4th Royal Artillery Regiment (4RAD) Camp, Segamat.

       GOF personnel and their spouses, meanwhile, will be casting their ballots at the 5th Battalion, GOF Camp in Simpang Renggam, Kluang, and the 6th Battalion in Bakri, Muar.

       A total of 239 candidates are vying for 56 seats in the Johor polls.

       Polling day for the Johor state election has been set for March 12.