KLUANG: The Election Commission (EC) has reported a voter turnout of 53.84 per cent for the Mahkota state by-election in Johor today.

This figure is lower than the targeted turnout of over 60 per cent, as previously projected by EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun.

In a statement tonight, Ramlan added that further details regarding the Mahkota by-election results can be accessed at https://dashboard.spr.gov.my.

The by-election saw Barisan Nasional (BN) retaining the Mahkota seat with its candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, securing a resounding victory with a majority of 20,648 votes, far ahead of his Perikatan Nasional (PN) opponent Mohamad Haizan Jaafar, who garnered only 7,347 votes.

Mahkota has 66,318 registered voters, with 4,437 of them being early voters, including military personnel and their spouses, as well as police personnel. Additionally, there were 607 postal voters.

Polling took place today at 20 polling stations, while early voting was last Tuesday, and postal ballots were issued on Sept 15.

The by-election was held following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.

-- BERNAMA