KLUANG: The Mahkota state by-election is set to commence tomorrow with the nomination process at Dewan Tunku Ibrahim Ismail here.

The nomination period will start at 9 am, with prospective candidates having until 10 am to submit their forms before Returning Officer Azurawati Wahid announces the names of contesting candidates.

The 14-day campaign period will commence after the nominations until 11.59 pm, Sept 27.

So far, Kluang UMNO Youth chief Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, 40, has been announced as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate representing the Unity Government, while Perikatan Nasional has chosen former Johor FA player Mohamad Haizan Jaafar, 61, to represent the coalition.

According to the Election Commission (EC), the electoral roll for the by-election consists of 66,318 voters, comprising 61,397 ordinary voters, 401 police personnel, 4,510 military personnel and their spouses, and 10 absentee voters abroad.

Early voting is scheduled for Sept 24, involving three centres with 11 stations. The main polling day will be on Sept 28, utilising 20 centres and 109 voting stations.

A total of 1,126 staff members will be deployed to manage the by-election.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department forecasts clear weather in Kluang tomorrow, with temperatures between 23 and 33 degrees Celcius.

The Mahkota seat became vacant following the death of its assemblyman, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.

In the Johor state election in March 2022, Sharifah Azizah, who was representing BN, won the seat with a majority of 5,166 votes.

The Mahkota polls will be the 10th by-election after the 15th General Election.

-- BERNAMA