(UPDATES) Nomination day today for Johor polls

JOHOR BAHRU, Feb 26  -- Today is Nomination Day for the Johor state election.

Nominations for the 56 seats in the state legislature open at 9 am and close at 10 am at as many centres.

As the election is being held amid a surge in the country of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, strict safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been put in place. 

These include wearing face masks, maintaining physical distancing and constant sanitising during the nomination process.

The Election Commission is also prohibiting the gathering and procession of supporters of the proposed candidates throughout Nomination Day.

A total of 2,597,742 voters are eligible to exercise their right in this election, which is historic in the sense that it is the first following the coming into force of Undi-18 (the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18). Voters in this age group for this election number more than 700,000.

Polling is on March 12 while early voting is on March 8.

The election has been called earlier than scheduled, with the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on Jan 23, after the state government was left with a single-seat majority due to the death of Kempas assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian, 70, of a stroke on Dec 21.

Following are some highlights:

As of 11 am:

- The Kota Iskandar seat sees a five-cornered contest among Pandak Ahmad (BN); Samsudin Ismail (PN); Dr Zaini Abu Bakar (Pejuang); Dzulkefly Ahmad (PH) and R. Arangkannal (PSM).

- The Kempas seat sees a seven-cornered contest, among Datuk Ramlee Bohani (BN); Napsiah Khamis Maharan (PKR); Nornekman Osman (Pejuang); Nur Faizal Abdullah (PN) and three independents - Mohd Azwan Abd Rahman, Mohd Suhimi A Rahman and Mohd Hambali Munadi.

- In Johor Bahru, it is a six-cornered clash for the Puteri Wangsa state constituency among Ng Yew Aik (BN); Khairil Anwar Razali (Pejuang); Loh Kah Yong (PN); Amira Aisya Abd Aziz (MUDA), Steven Choong Shiau Yoon (PSM) and Adzrin Adam (Independent).

- The Perling seat sees a three-cornered contest, among Liew Chin Tong (PH); Tan Hiang Kee (BN) and Koo Shiaw Lee (PN).

As of 10.45 am:

- It is a three-cornered contest for the Skudai seat, among Marina Ibrahim (PH); Khoo Kong Ek (PN) and Lim Soon Hai (BN), as announced by returning officer Muzaldin Mohamed in Johor Bahru.

- The Rengit seat sees a four-cornered fight among Mohd Huzair Lajis (PN); Nizam Bashir Abdul Kariem Bashir (Pejuang); Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN) and Khairuddin A. Rahim (PKR).

- The Machap seat sees a four-cornered contest among Datuk Dr Sharuddin Md Salleh (Pejuang); Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi (BN); Azlisham Azahar (PN) and R. Sangaran (MUDA), as announced by returning officer Mohd Faiz Mohd Salleh.

As of 10.30 am:

- In Batu Pahat, returning officer for the Semarang seat, Sufian Suleiman, announces four candidates eligible to contest, namely Adzlan Raju (Pejuang); Haryati Abu Nasir (PKR); Shazani A. Hamid (PN) and Datuk Samsolbari Jamali (BN).

- In Johor Bahru,  Returning Officer for the Larkin seat, Datuk Abdul Rahman Salleh declares that all six candidates who submitted their nomination papers were accepted, The seats sees a tussle between PKR, BN, PN, Pejuang, MUDA and  Independent  candidates.

- In Muar, returning officer for the Simpang Jeram seat, Mohd Nurulamin Abd Rahman, announced four candidates for the contest, namely Mahaizal Mahmor (Pejuang);  Zarul Salleh (PN); Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub (PH-Amanah) and Datuk Lokman Md Don (BN).

- For the Benut seat in Pontian, Returning Officer Mohd Rafi Abdullah announces a four-cornered contest with the eligible candidates being Iskandar Noor Ibrahim (Pejuang); Senator Datuk Isa Ab. Hamid (PN); Haniff @ Ghazali Hosman (PH) and Datuk Hasni Mohammad (BN).

As of 10 am:

- After the nominations closed, the respective returning officers (ROs) have begun announcing the names of candidates for the 56 seats

- At 10 am, nominations for the 2022 Johor State Election closed at all the 56 nomination centres.

As of 9.30 am:

- All five candidates for the Kota Iskandar seat have submitted their nomination papers.

- In Ulu Tiram, independent candidate Adzrin Adam arrives at the Taman Pelangi Indah community hall to submit his nomination papers to contest the Puteri Wangsa seat which is likely to see a six-cornered fight that also involves candidates from BN, MUDA, Parti Bangsa Malaysia, PN and Pejuang.

- The nomination process for candidates for the Machap seat at the Simpang Renggam Community Hall, Kluang is calm and running smoothly. As at the time, four candidates, from MUDA, BN, PN and Pejuang are present to submit their nomination forms.

As of 9.15 am:

- In Johor Bahru, independent candidate NorRamadan Buan, 45, (rpt) NorRamadan Buan, submits papers at the nomination centre at the Johor Bahru JKR Hall to contest the Larkin seat which may see a six-cornered fight.

- Pakatan Harapan candidate and incumbent for the Simpang Jeram seat,  Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub from Amanah submits his nomination forms at the preliminary check counter of the nomination centre at  Dewan Ibnu Battuta, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Haji Mohd Yassin, Muar at 9.10 am.

As of 9 am:

- BN candidate Datuk Hasni Mohammad, who is the Johor menteri besar, arrives at the Benut Multipurpose Hall in Pontian to submit his nomination papers to defend the Benut seat he has held since 2008.- BN candidate for Semarang, Datuk Samsolbari Jamali arrives at Dewan Muafakat Ayer Hitam at 9 am to submit his nomination forms to defend the seat he has held since 2004. He is also Johor UMNO secretary.

- At 9 am, nominations open for the 2022 Johor State Election at all the 56 nomination centres.

As of 8.45 am:

- Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad of PH-Amanah arrives at the nomination centre at the Iskandar Puteri City Council to defend the Kota Iskandar seat he won in 2018.

- In Machap, Pejuang candidate Datuk Dr Sharuddin Md Salleh arrives at the Simpang Renggam Community  Hall, Kluang at 8.54 am to submit his nomination papers. He is the Johor Pejuang chairman

- In Johor Bahru, BN-MCA candidate for Perling, Tan Hiang Kee, arrives to submit nomination papers at Dewan Jubli Intan.

- In Batu Pahat, PN-Bersatu candidate for Rengit, Mohd Huzair Lajis, arrives at the nomination centre at Dewan Makmur Rengit.

- At Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru, media practitioners covering the nomination process make final preparations before the arrival of the candidates for the Perling seat.

- Pandak Ahmad, the BN candidate for the Kota Iskandar seat, arrives at the nomination centre at the Iskandar Puteri City Council in Medini.

- In PAGOH, PN candidate for Bukit Kepong, Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal arrives at the nomination centre at Institut Kemahiran Tinggi Belia Negara (IKTBN)

- At the Johor Bahru District JKR Hall, two candidates – Mohd Hairi Mad Shah of BN and Rasid Abu Bakar of MUDA – are ready to submit their nomination papers to contest the Larkin state seat.

As of 8.30 am:

- PKR candidate Dr Maszlee Malik arrived at the nomination centre for the Layang-Layang seat at the Simpang Renggam District Council.

As of 8.15 am:

- MUDA candidate for Puteri Wangsa, Amira Aisya, arrives at the nomination centre at the Taman Pelangi Indah Community Hall at 8.05 am.
- In JOHOR BAHRU, nomination centres in  the Kempas, Permas and Larkin state constituencies begin to be filled with EC staff and those involved in the nomination process.

- EC staff and security personnel make final preparations before the nomination centre opens at 9 am for the Simpang Jeram constituency at the Ibnu Battuta Hall of SMK Agama Haji Mohd Yassin.

As of 7.30 am:

- Election Commission (EC) staff are all set to carry out the nomination process at all the nomination centres.

- Police presence  is high at most Candidate Nomination Centres throughout Johor to ensure safety around the centres while the Fire and Rescue Department conducts sanitation and compliance  measures on COVID-19 standard operating procedures.

- Election candidates and their proposers and seconders are seen entering the compound of the nomination centres as early as 7 am.

-- BERNAMA